Subscribe
Follow Us
The NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres had everything you could've wanted from a playoff series. There were tempers flaring, trash-talking, fans throwing things onto the field, a war of words with both sides, and even a controversial piece from Ken Rosenthal that kept him out of the Padres dugout for one of the games.
The Dodgers took Game 1 before the Padres responded in a big way with two straight wins to put LA on the brink of elimination. However, the Dodgers responded right back with two straight wins to get the 3-2 NLDS victory.
The season ended in heartbreak for the Padres, although they had a magnificent season and were just a few plays away from moving on to the NLCS. There is always blame to go around, and here are a few Padres to blame for the NLDS loss to the NL West rival Dodgers.
Dylan Cease
Dylan Cease had a terrific season for the Padres after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the beginning of the year. Cease went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA and pitched 189 innings, which was a big boost for the rotation that dealt with various injuries.
Unfortunately, he struggled in the postseason. Cease did not pick in the two games against the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card round. But, Cease got the start in Game 1, and he gave up five runs on six hits in 3.1 innings.
Then, surprisingly, Mike Shildt inserted Cease as the Game 4 starter on short rest to try and finish the series. Unfortunately, Cease went just 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits.
In total, he threw five innings in the postseason (all in the NLDS) and had an ERA of 14.40. It was a tough October for Cease, especially after such a strong regular season, but he started two of the three losses for the Padres in the NLDS.
Mike Shildt
In theory, this is a difficult one to put the blame on. Shildt provided a giant spark from the Bob Melvin days of 2023. The Padres' new manager gave the team a spark in a big way, which was evident with the 93-69 record and the Wild Card win over the Braves.
On the other hand, there were plenty of questionable decisions in the Dodgers series. In the Wild Card round against the Braves, it was Michael King and Joe Musgrove who got the strtas, but Musgrove suffered an injury and later had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Shildt beginning the series with Cease made sense, and then giving Yu Darvish the Game 2 start was another logical move. But, the biggest question came in Game 4. After the Padres seemed to have flipped the momentum and taken a 2-1 lead, all they needed was to win one more with Game 4 set at Petco Park.
But, Shildt decided to throw Cease on short rest, something the veteran had never done before in his MLB career. On top of that, this was only Cease's second time playing in the postseason. In 2021, Cease made one start with the Chicago White Sox and went 1.2 innings while giving up three runs.
On the other hand, Shildt had Martin Perez, a midseason trade deadline acquisition, sitting in the bullpen. Perez had not pitched in the postseason but was on the NLDS roster. On top of that, Perez pitched well since coming over via trade. In 10 appearances, Perez had a 3.46 ERA with a 3-1 record in 52 innings, and him being a southpaw would've made for a more difficult matchup for some of the LA hitters.
Nonetheless, it's hard to place all the blame on Shildt for one decision, but that was the turning point in the series without a doubt.
Padres offense down the stretch
It's hard to place the blame on one specific player on offense, especially because they played well in the first three games of the series. The Padres scored 21 runs in the first three games combined, including 10 in the Game 2 breakout with six home runs.
However, Games 4 and 5 were the complete opposite. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts trotted out a bullpen crew in Game 4, and the Padres finished with seven hits and zero runs, including just one extra-base hit in that game.
Then, Game 5 was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who tossed a gem with five shutout innings while giving up just two hits and a walk. As a result, the Padres ended the series by going 24 straight innings without scoring a run.
It was a surprising turn of events for the Padres offense, and that can't happen when October rolls around. For the Dodgers, the pitching continued into Game 1 of the NLCS as they beat the New York Mets 9-0 in another shutout.
Still, it was a great year for the Padres, and while the NLDS loss will sting, the future is still bright in San Diego.
