Tension developed between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres last season, and most expected it to return with the two teams viewed as the class of the National League and among the best in baseball.
Friday marked their first meeting of the 2021 regular season and it certainly did not disappoint. The Dodgers twice erased a deficit and went on to win 11-6 in extra innings.
There were dramatic hits and tense moments along the way, and tempers flared in the 10th inning when Dennis Santana hit Jorge Mateo with a pitch. Mateo’s body language made it clear he didn’t take kindly to it, and that seemingly drew the ire of Santana.
The two exchanged words but were quickly separated by teammates as both benches and bullpens cleared. “I just think that Mateo took exception,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
“[Santana] lost one arm-side, there was certainly no intent. I’m glad that it got resolved and Dennis regained his composure to get out of that inning.”
Jorge Mateo gets hit… and the benches have cleared in San Diego.#HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/IuPf48DO0h
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) April 17, 2021
The hit by pitch was part of a shaky appearance from Santana and one that had the Dodgers on the verge of suffering a loss. San Diego loaded the bases for Fernando Tatis Jr., who had already hit a home run in his first game back from the 10-day injured list.
Santana used a steady dose of sliders to get Tatis looking, and celebrated by pounding his chest toward the Dodgers’ dugout. “That was really fun to watch,” Roberts said.
“It felt like a playoff game. The crowd was into it, having fans — which we didn’t have last year — the home fans anticipated this matchup again, so there was a lot of buildup. The players, there was a lot of energy, focus, compete. Those guys didn’t quit, we didn’t quit. It was pretty cool to see that everyone contributed tonight.”
Dodgers, Padres a rivalry?
Roberts has been adamant about the Padres not being a rival to the Dodgers, but he relented a bit on that stance by admitting Friday’s game felt like such and was a postseason atmosphere.
That was a sentiment David Price agreed with, particularly after the dustup between Santana and Mateo. “I was kind of thinking about that out in the bullpen. All rivalries in baseball are really good, but once you get that first bench-clearing, that’s when it kind of goes to that next level,” Price said.
“I’m sure we’ll be ready to play [Saturday] and so will they. I think Kersh is throwing, so we’ll be ready.”
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