MLB Playoffs 2024: The Padres show that they will not be intimidated by the Dodgers or anyone else with victory in NLDS Game 3

SAN DIEGO – There was a lot of noise between Game 2 and Game 3 of the NLDS. The Dodgers felt disrespected after some verbal altercations and a much-analyzed throw from Manny Machado. The Padres felt disrespected after Fernando Tatis Jr. was drilled by Jack Flaherty, leading to much twittering.

There is no love between these two teams. That energy and intensity created a lot of excitement leading up to Game 3, which filled a packed Petco Park on Tuesday. Before the first pitch, you could feel the building shaking with anticipation.

But the Padres are not afraid of the Dodgers. They're not afraid of Los Angeles' vaunted lineup, and as they showed in Game 2, they're not afraid of Dodger Stadium either. They know they can beat the Dodgers in October because they've done it before. And when the series returned to San Diego soil, the Padres were ready to let their play do the talking.

“Definitely don’t be afraid,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. about his team’s mentality. “But that’s something you build over the years by gaining experience playing against these guys.”

To get a microcosm of who this Padres team is, look at the second inning of Game 3, where they put the Dodgers on the brink of another early October elimination with a 6-5 win.

After losing Game 2 10-2, LA had to strike first on Tuesday – and it did, as Mookie Betts finally snapped a 22-0 postseason hitless streak with a game-winning solo home run gave Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

But San Diego's lineup was relentless in Game 2 against Dodgers starter Walker Buehler – and the Dodgers' defense. Manny Machado started the inning with a single. Jackson Merrill followed with a ground ball to Freddie Freeman that the first baseman would normally turn into at least a force out, maybe even a double play. But this wasn't the Dodgers' night.

Instead, the former Gold Glove Award winner threw the ball into left field, moving Machado to third, moving Merrill to first and setting the table for a monster inning for San Diego. Giving a team extra outs is never the recipe for success, and for a team with as much momentum as these Padres, this was just the small margin they needed to change the game and take control of the series.

Things got worse for LA on the next play when Miguel Rojas trotted home a slow chopper hit from Machado to score the Padres' first run before an out was recorded in the inning.

The next batter, David Peralta, made LA pay for the defensive errors by blasting a two-run double down the right field line, sparking a sellout crowd at Petco Park.

“We’re good, man,” Peralta, a 37-year-old veteran who signed a minor league deal with San Diego in May, said afterward. “The first day I walked into the clubhouse they just welcomed me. It's just a great group of people, you know. We are all together. It’s like a brotherhood.”

What felt like a celebration for San Diego quickly became a disaster for Los Angeles.

“There were just balls that we just didn’t convert into outs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “And it builds up the stress in the inning.”

The Padres continued their attack after Peralta's double, adding a run on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Higashioka after a single by Jake Cronenworth. The Dodgers' failure to convert batted balls into outs, especially against the bottom-ranked Padres, led to the lineup being flipped and bringing in a man who doesn't disappoint at this time of year.

As he has done throughout the postseason, Tatis brought the city of San Diego to its feet with one blow. And when he unleashed a no-doubt two-run blast from the second-deck panel to give San Diego a 6-1 lead, one thing was clear: This Padres team will be undeniable.

“I just lost consciousness,” Tatis said later. “I feed off that kind of energy. When the fans come, (you) have meaningful games, you leave everything you have out there. I just feel like I'm taking it to another level – my mindset, my body, everything just goes through the roof.”

Tatis' home run continued his dominance against the Dodgers – .264/.326/.544 with 19 homers in his career – and in the postseason. He now has a stunning 1.969 OPS this October, a .556 average and four home runs, three of them in this series.

Not even a Dodgers rally in the following inning could stop the Padres' runaway train. A grand slam by Teoscar Hernandez after three consecutive singles opened the door for a comeback, but the San Diego bullpen slammed it shut. Padres starter Michael King made it through five innings of work, and then the electric quartet of Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, sealing the home team's victory and setting up one ahead of potentially crucial Game 4 on Wednesday.

But let's be clear: To say that all the talk leading up to Game 3 sparked this Padres team would be to overlook the fact that they didn't actually need any impetus. San Diego had the best record in baseball after the All-Star break, and after defeating the Braves in the wild card round and firmly in control of this NLDS with a chance to send the Dodgers home, they appear to be the best Being a team in baseball.

When comparing the Dodgers and Padres, the key difference is not the caliber of players or the stadium environment; It's the mentality in the clubhouse. From Game 1, the Dodgers were under a lot of pressure. Their victory in the first contest of this series felt more like a sigh of relief than a victory.

San Diego, on the other hand, has played carelessly in these playoffs, seemingly with no regard for tomorrow. The Padres play every game as if it could be their last, and that's why they're the most dangerous team left.

“I really appreciate this group, the way they compete, the way they carry themselves,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Proud of this group. I love her.”