Fresh off a comeback win on Opening Day, the Los Angeles Dodgers were unable to find that same magic as they lost the final game of the Seoul Series to the San Diego Padres, 15-11.
The 15 runs are the most the Padres have ever scored in a single game against the Dodgers.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB debut fell well short of expectations as the Padres stressed him early. Xander Bogaerts singled on the first pitch Yamamoto threw, and he then followed that by hitting Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch.
Jake Cronenworth tripled to put the Padres up 2-0, and Manny Machado followed with a walk. It wasn’t until facing Ha-Seong Kim, the fifth batter of the game, that Yamamoto finally recorded an out. But it came on a sacrifice fly to extend the Padres’ lead.
Luis Campusano added onto that with a chopper down the third-base line that got past Max Muncy to put San Diego up 4-0, and Tyler Wade singled him home to complete a five-run first inning.
Michael Grove entered in the second inning to replace Yamamoto, who allowed five runs on four hits and one walk while collecting two strikeouts and needing 43 pitches to get through the first frame.
The Dodgers started an early comeback bid in the bottom of the first inning when Shohei Ohtani singled, Freddie Freeman walked and Will Smith delivered an RBI double. They went on to load the bases but James Outman flied out to end the threat.
Gavin Lux started a rally in the second inning with a single, which was followed by a double from Mookie Betts. Ohtani just missed a home run, leaving the Dodgers to settle for one run on a sacrifice fly.
The Padres had another big inning in the third with four more runs to put them up 9-2. Three straight singles loaded the bases, and Bogaerts drove in a pair.
An error by Muncy gave the Padres their eighth run, and Cronenworth hit a sac fly for the fourth run of the inning.
The Dodgers answered in their half of the third with four runs of their. Smith and Muncy both singled to start the rally, and Outman grounded out to drive in a run.
Jason Heyward singled home Muncy, and Lux’s base hit put another runner on. Betts then doubled off the wall to drive in two more runs, cutting the Padres’ lead to 9-6.
The Padres scored their 10th run in the fifth on a single from Cronenworth, but the Dodgers continued to fight their way back into the game. Heyward singled to give the Dodgers a runner on base, and Betts followed by hitting the first home run of the 2024 season to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to just two runs.
Still, Dodgers pitching continued to struggle as Campusano doubled in another run in the sixth inning, and the Padres added another in the seventh following an error from Muncy with the bases loaded. It was Muncy’s second error of the game.
Smith continued to swing a hot bat in the seventh inning to drive in another run for the Dodgers with his fourth hit of the game. In the eighth, the Dodgers put two runners on base, and Betts drove them both in to cut the Padres’ lead to just one run heading into the ninth.
Betts finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and his six RBI were the most he’s had in a game for the Dodgers.
But despite the Dodgers battling throughout the night, they were unable to overcome the poor pitching and defensive issues as they also had three errors as a team. In addition to those issues, Ohtani just missed multiple home runs throughout the game as the ball was just not carrying at the Gocheok Sky Dome.
Like Betts, Machado proved to be an exception as he lined a three-run homer out to left field in the ninth inning to provide the Padres with some insurance.
Dodgers retuning to United States following Seoul Series
With the Seoul Series now completed, the Dodgers head back home to California. They continue their 2024 schedule at Dodger Stadium on March 28 against the St. Louis Cardinals, but first have a three-game Freeway Exhibition Series with the Los Angeles Angels between that time.
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