Shohei Ohtani helps Dodgers breathe easier with win over Padres

The way Dave Roberts framed it, Wednesday was a day for composure, not concern.

The Dodgers manager wasn’t looking for his players to give impassioned speeches, even in the wake of Tuesday’s gut-punch of a loss that ended on a triple play.

He didn’t fire up the clubhouse or hold some impromptu late-season meeting, even with the team’s division lead dwindling. Instead, in the second act of this week’s pivotal three-game series against the San Diego Padres, all Roberts desired was a clean, complete performance from his injury-plagued but ever-resilient squad.

“We play 162 games, and there are a lot of heartbreaking games,” Roberts said before first pitch. “And the thing about baseball players, you have to come back and win the next day.”

With a big helping hand from Shohei Ohtani and a lights-out bullpen, that’s exactly what the Dodgers did.

Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Padres didn’t clinch the National League West crown for the Dodgers. But with four games to go in the regular season, and their division lead back up to three games, they can get the champagne bottles and plastic wrap ready.

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At yet another juncture where their place atop the standings seemed to be teetering, the Dodgers once again found a way to steady their season. And if they beat the Padres (91-67) again Thursday night, or win at least twice in their final regular-season series in Colorado this weekend, they’ll claim their 11th division title in the last 12 years.

“It was big to bounce back after last night,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I thought we played with a little bit more energy.”

The main source of electricity came from Ohtani, who continued his torrid late-season run with the latest confirmation of his MVP candidacy. The slugger not only went two for three with a double, a walk, two RBIs and his 56th stolen base, but he played a key role in each of the team’s three scoring rallies as well, most notably a single in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

“I think the excitement of the fans and the spirit of the team are high,” Ohtani said in Japanese, after improving to 19 for his last 34 during an incredible eight-game hitting streak. “I think those are ingredients to heighten focus.”

Scuffling first baseman Freddie Freeman also showed some life at the plate, collecting two hits. Gavin Lux shook off a four-for-37 skid with an RBI single in the fourth before adding another single in the eighth.

And while starting pitcher Jack Flaherty grinded through a five-inning, three-run start to finish his season with a 3.17 earned-run average — “It wasn’t pretty,” Flaherty said, “but at this point, a win is a win” — the Dodgers bullpen was lights out the rest of the way, combining for four scoreless innings while yielding just three walks and no hits.

“You saw them [win last night] with probably one of the most bizarre endings of a game I’ve witnessed, other than maybe Game 4 of the World Series against Tampa Bay,” right-hander Blake Trienen, who highlighted the relief effort with a seven-pitch, two-strikeout eighth inning against the heart of the Padres lineup, told SportsNet LA.

“That doesn’t sit well,” Treinen added. “I hate losing. And them being a division rival, it’s not fun. Phenomenal players over there, but I take it personal. I know guys here, obviously, we had a sour taste in our mouth. So to come back today and win this game is great.”

Indeed, just as they did when facing similar situations in Arizona a month ago and in Atlanta last week, the Dodgers rebounded with a seemingly renewed sense of urgency.

The defense set the tone early. Muncy made a spinning throw on the game’s opening play. Lux turned a double play at second to end the first inning. Shortstop Miguel Rojas snagged a line drive with a dive in the third, though he later left the game because of a left adductor injury that will require an injection and could keep him out of action until Sunday.

Catcher Will Smith also ended the sixth inning by throwing out Xander Bogaerts as he tried to steal second.

“That’s what you need to do to win games,” Flaherty said.

The bats provided a couple of early leads.

Teoscar Hernández opened the scoring in the first with a two-out, two-strike single, plating Ohtani after he walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

A line-drive double from Tommy Edman in the fourth sparked another two-out rally, setting up Lux for his RBI single and Ohtani for an RBI double that was roped off the right-field wall with a 117-mph exit velocity.

“It fires us up,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s scorching form. “When your best player is playing with emotion, everyone follows.”

Flaherty failed to keep the Dodgers in front, giving up two runs in a stressful 32-pitch second inning before leaving a fastball up in the zone in the fifth that Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted for a home run deep to left field.

“The frustrating part is us getting the lead and not going out and putting up a shutdown inning,” said Flaherty, who gave up four hits and three walks while striking out five. “That’s one of the big things, is keeping the momentum.”

But from there, the bullpen preserved the 3-3 tie, with Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips each spinning a scoreless frame. Then, Ohtani again delivered in the clutch in the sixth, battling back from an 0-and-2 count against Padres left-hander Adrian Morejon before lining his go-ahead single through the middle of the infield.

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“He’s sniffing the postseason,” Roberts said, “and understanding how important these games are.”

Michael Kopech’s ninth-inning save didn’t come easy, with the hard-throwing right-hander walking a batter and giving up a stolen base. But when he ended the game by blowing a 101-mph fastball past Donovan Solano, the Dodgers erupted in the dugout — mirroring the reaction of a 52,310-person crowd.

“I expect our guys to be emotionally exhausted [and] spent every game from now going forward,” Roberts said. “If they’re not, they’re not leaving enough out there.”

On Wednesday night, the Dodgers appeared to embrace that message, setting up an opportunity on Thursday to clinch the NL West at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2018.

“You just want to go out and find ways to win, no matter what it takes,” Flaherty said. “So full team effort. And we got to get another one tomorrow.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.