Dodgers Star Takes Massive Shot at Padres Ahead of Game 3

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 8, 2024

Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are hours away from the first pitch of Game 3 and shots are being fired.

With the series tied at 1-1, Game 3 is critical for both teams as it will carry momentum in the best-of-five series.

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy addressed reporters Tuesday afternoon and had some choice words for the Padres’ style of play.

Muncy was questioned about the Padres' strategy of trying to irritate their opponents. Muncy acknowledged that it’s simply a part of their approach to the game. Here's his complete response:

“I don’t know about leveling the playing field, but I think that’s definitely part of their game is they try to — as I’ve said, they play off the emotion.

“The atmosphere here plays off their emotion. And we’ve seen that for the last several years, even in regular season games. Just something as simple as a single and you see the guy throwing the bat 30 feet in the air, that really gets the crowd going here.

Max Muncy says Padres players intentionally try to get under their skin, including bat-flipping 30 feet after a single pic.twitter.com/rX5mGZvSM9

— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) October 8, 2024

“That is kind of part of their game is trying to get under your skin and trying to have the emotion come out and get you to do something that you’re not normally doing.

“And just, for example, if you’re a pitcher and you see a guy doing that. And all of a sudden you want to throw harder and now you’re missing balls right over the plate. And that’s when their guys are doing the damage.

“It’s easier said than done, obviously, but you can’t let that happen.”

Max Muncy believes much of what the Padres are doing is designed to rattle their opponents. However, he's also aware that the Dodgers need to focus on their own game and not let the Padres’ antics impact their performance in this crucial Game 3.

Amid all the off-field drama, both teams are likely eager to shift the focus back to the field and get the game underway. Ultimately, the team that performs best on the field will advance to the NLCS later this week.

The drama from Game 2 continues to be a talking point for both teams. On Tuesday, Padres manager Mike Shildt seemed to make a thinly veiled remark directed at Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, referencing the incident where Manny Machado allegedly threw a baseball toward Roberts in the dugout.

Read more: Padres Manger Mike Shildt Claps Back at Dodgers' Dave Roberts, Defends Manny Machado

Game 3 is sure to bring more drama with first pitch set for 6:08 p.m. PT.