AJ Pollock hit a two-run homer in the 16th inning, handing the Padres their third consecutive loss. (0:19).
SAN DIEGO -- Fernando Tatis Jr., tired, frustrated, and maybe even a bit bored from all the time he spent standing in outfield, couldn't help but smile as he approached Third Base on his home-run trot. Wednesday night turned into Thursday morning.
San Diego Padres had not produced a hit for 10 innings, and they hadn't scored an extra base hit in a game that had reached the bottom in the 15th.
Tatis was 0-for-6 and in a slump of 1-for-24, but he hit a game-tying 2-run homer after Los Angeles Dodgers had scored a few runs in the top of the eighth inning.
Tatis' batted ball went out only after it bounced off the right-field fence.
This game was moved to the 16th inning.
The game was finally over when AJ Pollock, the hero of a tight game between these budding rivals, hit a two-run homer in the top 16th to end the game. This sent the Dodgers to a difficult, methodical, and perplexing 5-3 win from Petco Park.
Dave Roberts, Dodgers manager, said, "I'm pretty beat but you feel much better after a victory." His team has won 15 out of 17 games, but is still 2 1/2 games behind San Francisco Giants in National League West.
It should be counted as two. It doesn't, unfortunately.
The game, which was the longest in three innings since Major League Baseball added an automatic runner to second base in the 2020 season, ended at 12:59 AM PT. The game lasted 5 hours 49 minutes, and consisted of 19 pitchers throwing 489 pitches.
Three of those pitchers were all Padres players and came to bat. Walker Buehler, Blake Snell and Blake Snell began the marathon with a traditional pitchers' duel. They combined to allow just two runs and record 43 innings, 18 of which were on strikeouts. The Padres were losers of 10 out of 12 of their previous 12, and suddenly found themselves fighting to qualify for the playoffs. They held a 1-0 advantage until Will Smith scored a game-tying run against Snell in the eighth.
The score would be maintained for six more frames.
The pitchers were placed in the middle of their lineup due to substitutions. Dodgers took advantage of Manny Machado's presence and Jake Cronenworth's presence in the middle of Padres' lineup by issuing eight intentional walks. This was the highest number of intentional walks since 1955. Kenley Jansen, Mariano Rivera, and Trevor Hoffman were the only relievers with that many career strikeouts at one point. Later in the night, another Dodgers reliever, Brusdar Grraterol, celebrated 23rd.
Both teams combined went 7-for 51 with runners in scoring positions. 35 runners were left stranded at the bases. Four of them were thrown out between home plate and third base. The Padres were 0-for-18 when it came to walk-off chances entering the 15th.
Snell said that "this was really strange", adding that the Padres are still one game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the second NL wild card spot. Both teams have strong lineups and can hit. I mean, when has it been more than one run? What's the 15th inning? I don't know what that is. It was very strange."
