Dodgers force NLDS Game 5 with shutout win over Padres

SAN DIEGO – Mookie Betts hit a home run for the second straight game, Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Dylan Cease and the San Diego Padres 8-0 on Wednesday night to set up a decisive Game 5 in their tense National League Division Series.

Will Smith and Gavin Lux each hit a two-run home run for the Dodgers, who ended a two-game losing streak and now return home for the next matchup between the NL West rivals on Friday night.

“We have a lot of grinders, a lot of fighters,” Betts said after the Dodgers posted the biggest shutout win in franchise postseason history. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

The Padres won 10-2 in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night as spirits ran high on the field and in the stands.

The winner has home field advantage in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, who eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in their NLDS.

“I am proud. … Your desire has to be greater than your opponent’s,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Seeing our guys go through what they went through and respond the way they did makes me excited for Game 5.”

The Dodgers got an outstanding performance from opener Ryan Brasier and seven other relievers in a bullpen game, holding the Padres to seven hits and extending their scoreless streak to 15 innings. Evan Phillips, who got the win, left Jurickson Profar, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill on five pitches in the sixth.

Before Wednesday, no team had ever posted a postseason shutout in a game whose starter had four or fewer outs, according to ESPN Research. The Dodgers accomplished the feat hours after the Tigers used six relievers to beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in Game 3 of their American League Division Series.

“Overall, the guys were efficient and knew they had to deal with ups and downs and maybe last a little longer,” Roberts said. “So the efficiency of the attack zone was huge and it gives us options for Game 5.”

The Dodgers silenced the Petco Park record crowd of 47,773 who were hoping to see San Diego defeat LA in the NLDS for the second time in three seasons.

With All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman sidelined with a painful right ankle sprain, Betts and Ohtani – who starred in his first season with the Dodgers – had to perform to keep LA’s season alive. That’s exactly what they did: Betts drove in two runs on two hits and Ohtani drove in a run and reached three times.

With the Dodgers leading 5-0, the Japanese superstar was thrown out trying to score from second by a single by Teoscar Hernández in the fourth that ripped off third baseman Manny Machado’s glove and hit umpire Mark Ripperger . Machado circled the ump, grabbed the ball and fired it to catcher Kyle Higashioka, who tagged Ohtani for the third out.

The Padres’ attempt to start Cease on short rest failed. He got Ohtani to lead off the game before Betts hit a home run on a full-count pitch. Cease put on two runners, one out in the second, and was chased by Ohtani’s RBI single to right in his 38th pitch.

“I liked the way the ball came out of my hand and I didn’t feel like I shot myself in the foot too many times, which I actually did. I felt good out there,” Cease said. As for the first snag: “It depended on the results and unfortunately the results weren’t there today.”

Betts hit an RBI single on Bryan Hoeing’s first pitch for a 3-0 lead, calming the towel-waving sellout crowd.

This time, Betts had no doubt about his home run. He threw a 3-2 pitch into the Padres’ bullpen behind the left-center fence and raised his right index finger as he rounded to first, while Ohtani raised his arms in celebration in the dugout.

On Tuesday night, Betts hit a home run to left but thought Jurickson Profar had robbed him again and turned toward the dugout before his teammates and even Padres starter Michael King indicated it was a home run. Profar robbed Betts of a home run Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, trolling fans. The game was stopped for 12 minutes after fans threw baseballs at Profar and threw trash on the outfield.

Betts hit his home run to overcome a 22-0 playoff loss on Tuesday night.

“I’m not trying to win the game for us. And we have a lot of guys who can win games for us,” Betts said. “I just want to contribute to the team. And that’s all I focused on.”

Ohtani hit a game-winning three-run home run against Cease in the slugger’s highly anticipated playoff debut, a 7-5 win Saturday night. Ohtani became the first member of the 50-50 club this season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases.

With a leadoff double from Max Muncy in the third, Smith drove a pitch from Hoeing right into the batter’s eye in center field for a 5-0 lead. The Dodgers followed up in the seventh with Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly and Lux’s two-run shot right to Wandy Peralta.

The Dodgers kept slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. in mind after he hit three home runs in the first three games, including two on Sunday night and four total this postseason. Brasier beat Tatis in the first game, the star’s first at-bat in six playoff games.

“They executed as a group tonight, that’s their credit,” Tatis said. “We were well positioned offensively. But we had a couple of innings that didn’t go in our favor. We need to get a better approach to the record.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.