Lack of timely hitting has Dodgers facing early playoff exit vs. Padres

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have failed to take advantage of premium run- scoring opportunities.

The 0-for-8 showing with runners in scoring position in Wednesday's Game 2 was followed by an 0-for-9 showing in Friday's Game 3. Their hitless streak in those situations is their longest since 1981 and ties for their longest rut of the season. The Padres are on the verge of ending their season, which is tied for the fourth-largest in history, due to their dominance this season. This can happen in the playoffs.

"They're pitching good right now, and we're not hitting," Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said after Los Angeles' 2-1 loss at San Diego, which gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five division series. They have to hit tomorrow.

San Diego native and lifelong Padres fan Joe Musgrove will take the ball in Saturday's Game 4 in front of what promises to be a frenzied home crowd and with an opportunity to extinguish a Dodgers team that finished first in their division. The Dodgers, who will start left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson, need to find a way to score against the Padres, who have limited their offense to nine base runners and zero runs in the series.

Trent Grisham hit his third home run of the playoffs in the fourth after the Padres scored on a two-out single from Jake Cronenworth. They did enough despite the fact that they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Mookie Betts said that the Dodgers' issues were timely hitting. We don't string together a lot of at-bats to score runs.

Betts led off the game with a single, but he didn't score, as the other players struck out in order. A theme would be created. The celebrated top of the Dodgers' order did not come through when the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters reached base with no outs. Betts, Turner, and Smith all lined out in the third. In the fifth, Betts contributed a sacrifice fly, but Turner popped out and the runners were left stranded.

Dave Roberts said that the Dodgers were being hyper- aggressive early in counts. They are getting us on the outside of the plate.

Turner lead off with an infield single in the eighth. Turner, the fastest man in baseball, did not attempt the stolen base that would have tied the game. Turner jammed his ring finger against first base when the Padres pitcher almost picked him off. The X-rays on Turner's finger were negative, and he retreated to the bench to have his taped.

Turner said that he wasn't trying to steal. The times are low, but he looks like he has a large leg kick. He's under 1.3 seconds from the start of his delivery to when the baseball reaches the catcher's mitt a lot, a couple 1.4's in there, so you have to pick and choose where you want to take them. I didn't want them to get any easy outs because he was throwing the ball well.

Josh Hader, who has looked more like his dominant self of late, breezed through the bottom part of the Dodgers' lineup, ending his outing with back-to-back strikeouts.

In the last nine regular-season games against the Padres, the Dodgers went 9-2 and scored more than twice as many runs as their opponents. They were better after 161 games. No, that doesn't matter now. One win away from eliminating the team they've been chasing for the past four years, the Padres are hosting a playoff series with fans in the stands for the first time in six years.

Betts was asked if he was surprised by the situation.

He said he wasn't surprised at all. The team is a good ball team. The regular season is meaningless. The players are playing well. We've not.