Padres, Dylan Cease flounder in 6-0 loss, fall behind Dodgers in NL West

New York Times

2 hours ago

LOS ANGELES — Winners of another trade deadline and 14 of their past 17 games, the San Diego Padres strode into Dodger Stadium this weekend having overtaken their hosts in an unexpectedly close pennant race. The National League West will not be won this weekend or even the next, but few teams in franchise history have appeared as close in August.
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That was Friday before a one-run loss in a well-pitched series opener.
This was Saturday. In one of their worst performances of the year, the Padres beat themselves in a 6-0 shutout by a Los Angeles Dodgers club that went from losing five consecutive games and 21 of their past 33 to at least temporarily reclaiming first place.
'(Friday) was a really good baseball game, both sides of the ball,' San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. 'And (Saturday), I mean, it just got out of hand a little early.'
It did, on both sides of the ball.
Former Padres left-hander Blake Snell went six innings for the first time in a Dodgers uniform, receiving multiple assists from catcher Will Smith. San Diego's three highest-paid players — Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bogaerts — singled in their first at-bats. All of them were promptly caught stealing second.
LIKE WE SAID, DON'T RUN ON WILL. pic.twitter.com/cLBxl2Btcn
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 17, 2025
Padres starter Dylan Cease, meanwhile, kept handing out free bases. In the bottom of the first, he issued four walks in an inning for the first time in his career. In the bottom of the second, he walked Shohei Ohtani and Smith, each for the second time.
Then Freddie Freeman lofted a two-out fly ball to right-center, Tatis and Jackson Merrill converged on it and Merrill watched the ball glance off his glove for his first error of the season. Ohtani and Smith came around to score.
'It was just right in between (Merrill and Tatis), and I looked at him and he looked at me,' Merrill, the center fielder, said. 'You know, we've done that a million times before. I just happened to not catch it this time. I'm not even disappointed with myself. Just fluke s— happens sometimes, and you can't take it back.'
It was the latest forgettable moment in a series that, so far, has been a disappointment.
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The Padres entered Friday in rare territory — alone in first place this late in a season for the first time since 2010. Their one-game lead soon disappeared as 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw topped out at 90.7 mph and completed six innings of one-run ball, preserving a Dodgers bullpen that had appeared in tatters. The top four hitters in San Diego's lineup combined to go 0-for-14, suggesting that a recently lengthened offense contains lingering weaknesses.
A night later, another area for concern rose to the forefront. With Opening Day starter Michael King back on the injured list, Cease continued his frustrating season. The right-hander, coming off two of his best outings, threw only 17 of 37 first-inning pitches for strikes. At one point, David Morgan began throwing in the bullpen.
Morgan sat down when Cease finally escaped a three-run, one-hit frame. But the rookie reliever eventually took the mound. Cease vacated it in the fourth after his shortest outing of 2025.
'Walks kill you,' Cease said, 'and at the end of the day, I didn't really give us a chance.
'I've been inconsistent this year, unfortunately. When it's good, I'm commanding all my pitches. When it's bad, it seems like I'm not finding the zone. It's just one of those where it's disappointing, but I got to flush it and get ready for the next one.'
With Cease carrying a 4.61 ERA, the Padres are approaching a September in which they might not have many starting pitchers they can trust. Yu Darvish, who will start Sunday's series finale, turned 39 on Saturday; he has recently quipped that his surgically repaired elbow feels older. King hopes he can return before the end of this month, but the fact remains that he has made only one start since late May. Nick Pivetta, easily the rotation's most reliable member, has made a total of three postseason appearances, all in 2021 with the Boston Red Sox.
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It's only two games, but in the biggest series of the year, the offense has exhibited signs of concern. Tatis, the team's leadoff man, entered Saturday with a .652 on-base plus slugging percentage since the trade deadline. Luis Arráez (.548), the No. 2 hitter, and Machado (.584), the No. 3 hitter, had been even less productive.
At the same time, deadline acquisition and 2025 All-Star Ryan O'Hearn has played only intermittently. Yet manager Mike Shildt has stuck with Arráez, another left-handed hitter, in the two-hole. Gavin Sheets, a key contributor before the deadline, has spent almost all of the past two weeks on the bench.
'It's more about the best matchup,' Shildt said before Saturday's game. 'There's scenarios where they could both get an at-bat during a game. There's a scenario where neither one of them get an at-bat, the way the game dictates. But I can tell you it's nice to have them both there in case we need them.'
The Padres barely needed them Saturday — O'Hearn struck out looking in a pinch-hit at-bat — and that was largely their doing. The offense never found a rhythm as Cease sprayed pitches and Smith fired strikes to second base. Snell has long had a reputation as a pitcher opponents can run on; in 2023, when he won the National League Cy Young award with San Diego, baserunners went 25-for-26 on steal attempts with Snell on the mound. Two years later, on a temperate night in Chavez Ravine, the Padres went 0-for-3.
'Looking back, maybe we shouldn't have gone,' Bogaerts said. 'I got my jump (in the top of the second). I thought I was safe by a mile. But (Smith) has a good arm, man.'
The Padres (69-54), who led the Dodgers (70-53) by a game going into the series, now trail their chief rivals by a game. There are 39 games left in the regular season. It feels like plenty of time. Just a few days ago, the Padres swept the San Francisco Giants on the road. Back home, a city buzzed with a palpable sense of momentum.
'I feel like it's been a long road trip, you know, playing against two division rivals,' Bogaerts said. 'We got one more game, one more game, and try to salvage the series, and just win one at least. And can't wait to get back to Petco.
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'I think it's just the way that we kind of prepare, you know, our intensity and the focus that we have in coming down the stretch in these last couple of games. I mean, I feel like you should feel that way. You should feel a little mentally drained. If you're locked in and you're competing as hard as you can, I think at the end of the night you should feel that way.'
For now, the Padres still bear the burden of proof. The Dodgers, decimated by injuries and underperformance, appear as vulnerable as they have in years. And yet, the defending World Series champions remain atop their division. They have gone 7-2 against the Padres, clinching the season series and a key tiebreaker.
Saturday, the Dodgers walked and gunned their way to a shutout. On the other side, the Padres were left feeling drained and perplexed.
'That was an odd game,' Shildt said. 'Listen, not happy getting thrown out. We had a plan, and they made some plays. And when you're down, it hurts a little bit more. But it's not a (normal) game when you outhit a team and lose six-nothing.'
(Photo of Dylan Cease: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
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