Quinn Priester dominates Dodgers as Brewers extend winning streak to 8 with 2-0 shutout
The Brewers equaled their longest winning streak of the season from May 25 to June 2. They continued their dominance over the NL West leaders, having outscored them 15-4 during a three-game sweep in Milwaukee last week.
Priester (8-2) allowed three hits and struck out a season-high 10 on 77 pitches. He struck out the side in the first and fifth. All-Star closer Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his 22nd save.
Durbin yelled "Let's go!" as he rounded the bases after his 410-foot shot to straightaway center field off reliever Kirby Yates with two outs in the seventh.
The Brewers led 1-0 on Durbin's RBI double into the left-field corner that scored Isaac Collins, who walked leading off the fifth.
Glasnow (1-1) gave up one run and four hits in six innings while striking out six.
The Dodgers twice had the potential tying run in scoring position. Freddie Freeman doubled in the fourth but Will Smith lined into a double play, with Freeman getting doubled off second. Shohei Ohtani reached on a throwing error by shortstop Joey Ortiz in the sixth and stole second before Mookie Betts struck out swinging to end the inning.
The NL West-leading Dodgers were held to three hits. They've lost eight of 10 games.
All-Star RHP Freddy Peralta (11-4, 2.66 ERA) starts Saturday for the Brewers. RHP Emmet Sheehan (1-0, 2.03) goes for the Dodgers.
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4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hays' walk-off single gives Reds 3-2 win, ends Brewers' 14-game streak
CINCINNATI (AP) — Austin Hays' single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday, ending the Brewers' franchise-record winning streak at 14 games. Milwaukee had barely pulled out the previous two games in Cincinnati for its longest streak ever within one season and the longest in the majors since the St. Louis Cardinals won 17 straight from Sept. 11 to Sept. 28, 2021. This time, Spencer Steer's sacrifice bunt in the 10th advanced designated runner TJ Friedl to third. After intentional walks to Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson loaded the bases, Hays laced a single to down the third-base line for his second career walk-off hit. Milwaukee, which overcame a seven-run deficit on Friday and rallied to win in 14 innings Saturday, nearly came back for another win. William Contreras hit his 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot off Reds closer Emilio Pagan, to put Milwaukee ahead 2-1 in the ninth. But the Reds tied it when Benson reached on a fielding error by shortstop Joey Ortiz and later scored on Jose Trevino's single. The first-place Brewers fell to 53-17 in their last 70 games. TWINS 8, TIGERS 1 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brooks Lee's first career grand slam capped a six-run third inning and Minnesota beat Detroit to avoid a four-game series sweep. Byron Buxton had a homer among his three hits and Royce Lewis also went deep for Minnesota, which won for the second time in seven games. Making his seventh career start, and first since Sept. 2, 2023 with Pittsburgh, Thomas Hatch (2-0) allowed three hits and struck out four in five innings. Lee's slam off former Twins pitcher Chris Paddack to the seats in right field — Minnesota's first slam since Carlos Correa on July 5, 2024 at Houston —made it 7-1 and highlighted a third inning that began with Buxton's 25th home run, a 388-foot shot that reached the second deck in left field. Kerry Carpenter had an RBI single for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who lost for the first time in six games. Acquired from the Twins on July 28, Paddack (4-11) allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings and lost to Minnesota for the second time in three starts. The right-hander allowed four earned runs in four innings of a 6-3 loss Aug. 5. He's allowed at least eight runs three times this season. PHILLIES 11, NATIONALS 9 WASHINGTON (AP) — Alec Bohm hit a three-run home run in his return from the injured list, Nick Castellanos also went deep and Philadelphia defeated Washington to earn a four-game series split. Right-hander Aaron Nola also returned from the injured list to give up six runs in 2 1/3 innings for the Phillies in his first big league appearance since May 14. NL East-leading Philadelphia had dropped four of its last five games. Paul DeJong hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning for last-place Washington, which fell to 18-36 in day games. Bohm had two hits in his first game since July 18, including a fourth-inning single that chased reliever PJ Poulin (0-1). Castellanos doubled off Orlando Ribalta, and Weston Wilson followed with a two-run single to make it 8-6. Tanner Banks (5-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Jhoan Duran, pitching for the first time since taking a line drive off his ankle Friday, got the last two outs for his 21st save and fifth with the Phillies. Philadelphia scored an unearned run in the first and then capitalized when José Tena's relay for a potential inning-ending double play in the second sailed out of play. The Phillies collected three consecutive singles before Bohm blasted Washington starter Mitchell Parker's last pitch into the visitors' bullpen in left. Parker allowed six runs — five earned — in 1 2/3 innings. Nola retired seven of the first eight batters he faced before the next seven reached safely. His outing ended on Tena's double to tie it. MARLINS 5, RED SOX 3 BOSTON (AP) — Dane Myers and Jakob Marsee homered in Miami's three-run ninth inning and the Marlins beat Boston to end a three-game losing streak. Myers hit the second pitch from Greg Weissert (4-4) into Boston's bullpen to tie it, and Marsee sent a pitch from Steven Matz into the seats in right. Tyler Phillips (2-1) worked a scoreless inning, and Anthony Bender got the final three outs for his fourth save. Eric Wagaman also homered for the Marlins. Boston's Wilyer Abreu had a two-run homer that popped out of the glove of right fielder Myers when he crashed into the fence. The Red Sox wasted a solid start by ace Garrett Crochet. Crochet rebounded from his worst start of the season, giving up three hits, with eight strikeouts and a walk one over seven innings. He was tagged for five runs in four innings in a loss Monday at Houston. Miami's Joey Wiemer struck out swinging three times in his major league debut. RANGERS 10, BLUE JAYS 4 TORONTO (AP) — Marcus Semien homered and scored twice in his return to the lineup and Nathan Eovaldi worked seven innings and won his seventh straight decision as Texas beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep. Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter each hit two-run homers, and Corey Seager added a solo shot as Texas snapped a four-game skid. Rangers first baseman Jake Burger exited after six innings because of a sore left wrist. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk hit solo home runs, but that was all the offense the Blue Jays managed against Eovaldi (11-3). The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Eovaldi is unbeaten since a May 22 road loss to the Yankees. Shawn Armstrong got four outs for his fourth save in seven chances. Back at second base after sitting out Saturday's loss because of a sore right wrist, Semien hit a two-run homer off right-hander José Berríos in the second. The homer was Semien's 15th. Seager chased Berríos with a one-out homer in the fifth, his 18th. Langford homered off Braydon Fisher in the sixth, his 17th. Carter connected off Louis Varland in the ninth, his fifth. Berríos (9-5) allowed a season-high 10 hits and matched a season-high by giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Guerrero's sixth-inning homer was his 21st. Kirk hit his ninth in the second. George Springer hit a two-run homer off Hoby Milner in the eighth, his 19th. BRAVES 5, GUARDIANS 4 CLEVELAND (AP) — Jurickson Profar hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning, Atlanta won its season-best fifth straight game, rallying past Cleveland to complete a three-game sweep. With one out in the sixth, Profar pulled a 3-2 slider from Nic Enright (2-1) over the wall in right field to put the Braves ahead. Atlanta trailed 4-1 after four innings. Aaron Bummer (3-2) worked two innings of scoreless relief, and Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson and Raisel Iglesias pitched a scoreless frame each, with Iglesias converting his 19th save. Left fielder Profar made a diving catch of a liner by Gabriel Arias for the second out in the ninth. Bo Naylor had four hits and Daniel Schneemann had a two-run triple for the Guardians, who had worked their way back into playoff contention with 11 wins in 14 games before getting swept by the Braves. CUBS 4, PIRATES 3 CHICAGO (AP) — Dansby Swanson hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and Chicago beat Pittsburgh in the rubber game of the weekend series. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ each had two hits for Chicago, which had dropped four of five before a 3-1 victory Saturday. Next up is a big five-game series against major league-leading Milwaukee, beginning with a split doubleheader Monday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are eight games back of the Brewers in the NL Central. Chicago had runners on second and third with one out in the eighth when Isaac Mattson (3-2) issued an intentional walk to Nico Hoerner. Swanson followed with a flyball to right, driving in Carson Kelly. Caleb Thielbar (3-3) got one out for the win, and Andrew Kittredge pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save. Pittsburgh trailed 2-1 before Joey Bart lined a two-run double into the corner in left in the sixth. Ronny Simon's two-out single put runners on the corners, but Ben Brown escaped the jam when Spencer Horwitz bounced to second. Chicago tied it at 3 on Carson Kelly's bloop single in the bottom half, driving in Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs had the bases loaded with two down, but Swanson flied to right for the final out of the inning. ROYALS 6, WHITE SOX 2 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jonathan India and Adam Frazier hit two-run homers, rallying Kansas City to a victory over Chicago for a series sweep. The White Sox led 2-0 before India tied it in the seventh with his 451-foot shot, tying his longest. Run-scoring singles by Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez gave the Royals a 4-2 lead in the eighth before Frazier's fifth homer of the season made it 6-2. White Sox starter Davis Martin allowed one hit in seven innings before Steven Wilson, Grant Taylor (0-3) and Jordan Leasure yielded six runs and seven hits in two innings. Lenyn Sosa hit his 16th home run of the season with one out in the first and Andrew Benintendi scored on Edgar Quero's RBI single in the sixth to make it 2-0. Lucas Erceg (5-3), the fourth Kansas City pitcher, earned the win with one scoreless inning. ORIOLES 12, ASTROS 0 HOUSTON (AP) — Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer among four hits with a career-best five RBIs and Dean Kremer pitched seven sharp innings to give Baltimore a win over Houston. Kremer (9-9) allowed just three singles and struck out seven. Grant Wolfram and Corbin Martin finished the six-hitter. The Astros were shut out for the second time this series after Brandon Young came within four outs of a perfect game in Baltimore's 7-0 win Friday night. Westburg hit an opposite-field shot to right-center off Shawn Dubin in the fifth to make it 5-0. He added RBI singles in the seventh and eighth. His four hits matched a career high. Houston starter Cristian Javier (1-1) left with an illness after allowing one run in three innings. The Astros used five relievers before outfielder Chas McCormick threw a scoreless ninth in his second pitching appearance this week. The bases were loaded in the third when Jesús Sánchez robbed Gunnar Henderson of a grand slam with a leaping catch into the seats in right field. Jeremiah Jackson scored on the sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Sánchez robbed another homer in the seventh with two on when he reached into the seats to snag a fly ball hit by Samuel Basallo, who was making his major league debut. Basallo, the Orioles' top prospect, drove in two runs with a single in Baltimore's five-run eighth. YANKEES 8, CARDINALS 4 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cody Bellinger drove in three runs, Paul Goldschmidt had three hits against his former team and New York beat St. Louis for a series sweep. Second baseman Thomas Saggese made two errors in the Yankees' four-run ninth. He threw wildly to first, and leadoff batter José Caballero took second and then third on a passed ball. Walks to pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge loaded the bases. Saggese let Bellinger's grounder get by him for two runs. Judge then scored on a fielder's choice. Goldschmidt, who played for St. Louis from 2019-24, hit his second double for the final run. Luke Weaver (3-3) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings. JoJo Romero (4-5) took the loss. New York tied it at 4 in the seventh when Trent Grishman drew a leadoff walk and scored on Bellinger's sacrifice fly. Camilo Doval led off the sixth with a homer to center to put St. Louis up 4-3. The Yankees grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning on run-scoring singles by Jasson Domínguez, Ryan McMahon and Caballero. St. Louis scored two unearned runs in the fourth on a two-out double to right by Saggese. Alec Burleson drove in a run in the fifth to tie it. St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol was ejected in the seventh. It was his fifth ejection this season. Yankees coach Tanner Swanson was ejected in the fourth inning. ROCKIES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5 DENVER (AP) — Ryan Ritter and Mickey Moniak hit two-run singles in the seventh inning and Colorado held on to beat Arizona. Major league-worst Colorado rallied late for the second consecutive game and won the final three games of four-game series. The Rockies are 35-89. Jake Woodford (0-3) gave up a leadoff single and hit the next two batters, and singles by Ritter and Moniak gave the Rockies a 5-4 lead. Braxton Fulford had an RBI double in the eighth. Anthony Molina (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning and Juan Mejia finished for his first save for Colorado. With runners on second and third in the ninth, Mejia made a leaping catch of Ketel Marte's popup and held onto the ball despite colliding with first baseman Warming Bernabel to end the game. GIANTS 7, RAYS 1 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Dominic Smith hit a three-run single and Drew Gilbert and Tyler Fitzgerald added solo homers as San Francisco beat Tampa Bay. Smith's bases-clearing double scored Rafael Devers, Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames in the sixth inning and put the Giants ahead to stay. Gilbert hit his first MLB homer in his eighth game and added an RBI single. Fitzgerald followed Gilbert's long ball in the seventh with his fourth homer of the season. San Francisco's Logan Webb (11-9) pitched seven innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot (8-10) allowed six hits and four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, with eight strikeouts. The Rays' only run came on an infield single by Yandy Diaz that scored catcher Hunter Feduccia in the eighth innng. DODGERS 5, PADRES 4 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a tiebreaking solo home run leading off the eighth inning after Los Angeles blew a four-run lead and the Dodgers beat San Diego to increase their NL West lead to two games. The Dodgers opened the three-game series trailing the Padres by a game but they swept their rivals, outscoring San Diego 14-6. The teams meet again starting Friday in San Diego. After walking and flying out twice, Betts went deep to left off reliever Robert Suarez (4-5) for his second homer in his last nine games, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. Suarez retired the next three batters. Freddie Freeman hit a two-strike, three-run homer and Andy Pages added a solo shot off Padres starter Yu Darvish in the first, staking starter Tyler Glasnow to a 4-0 lead. Swinging a bat resembling a pencil on Players' Weekend, Pages' shot came with two outs and was the sixth homer given up by Darvish — all on the road — this season. After Alex Freeland's leadoff walk in the second, the Dodgers went down in order in the third, fourth and fifth. ANGELS 11, ATHLETICS 5 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jo Adell hit a three-run homer in the first inning and kicked off a six-run tenth with an RBI single as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Athletics to avoid a three-game sweep. Kenley Jansen (5-2) struck out two in a scoreless ninth to give him 1,268 for his career, the fourth-most strikeouts by a reliever in major league history. In the 10th, automatic runner Mike Trout advanced to third on a passed ball, Taylor Ward walked and Adell lined a single to center against Michael Kelly (2-2) to make it 6-5. Christian Moore drove in his third run of the game with a grounder and Luis Rengifo followed with a two-run triple off Ben Bowden. Bryce Teodosio added a sacrifice fly and Zach Neto capped the scoring with a 436-foot homer to left-center, his 21st. Adell's homer in the first off Jeffrey Springs was his 26th, extending his career best. Rookie Nick Kurtz hit his 25th homer in the third inning and the A's went back-to-back when Shea Langeliers hit his 26th. Lawrence Butler's 17th homer got the A's within 5-4 in the sixth, and Luis Urías tied it with a two-out RBI single. METS 7, MARINERS 3 WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Mark Vientos hit a three-run homer to the delight of hundreds of cheering 12-year-olds and sent New York to a 7-3 win over Seattle in the Major League Baseball Little League Classic. Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh boosted his major league home run lead with his 47th of the season in the seventh. Little Leaguers from around the world made up the bulk of the crowd at the 2,366-seat Historic Bowman Field and some of them got to pinch-hit in a variety of roles. There were kids in the broadcast booth, playing DJ, and even public address announcer. That is, when they weren't belting out the SpongeBob lyrics or angling for selfies with Mariner Moose or Mr. Met. For the big leaguers, the annual game is a throwback of sorts to their own youth baseball days. Mets pitcher Sean Manaea traded pins. Raleigh's chest protector featured a baseball card design of teammates and coaches from when they were kids. And yes, managers for both teams held their breath as players went cardboard sledding at Lamade Stadium. The game went downhill early for the Mariners. Vientos hit a sacrifice fly off Mariners starter George Kirby (8-6) in a three-run second inning. Vientos hit his eighth homer of the year in the fifth to make it 6-1. Francisco Lindor added an RBI double later in the inning.
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Dodgers Showed Urgency in Sweep of Padres and Why They're Still the Team to Beat
Major League Baseball Dodgers Showed Urgency in Sweep of Padres and Why They're Still the Team to Beat Updated Aug. 17, 2025 11:07 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link LOS ANGELES – Six weeks after taking a nine-game lead in the National League West, the Dodgers' sizable advantage was not just dwindling; it was gone. The reigning World Series champions entered a critical weekend wobbling, having lost 21 of their last 33 games. They hoped a visit from the revamped rivals who overtook them for the division lead might help them discover the urgency and intensity that had been missing. Consider them found. After sweeping the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers reclaimed their place atop the NL West, reestablished the pecking order in one of MLB's most hotly-contested division races and reinforced the belief that the last couple of months of substandard play isn't necessarily indicative of what's to come for one of the most talented rosters in baseball. "I think it might reinforce it to others outside of the locker room," manager Dave Roberts said. "But it is something of, like, we've got to get going and not just talk about it." ADVERTISEMENT Padres vs. Dodgers Highlights | MLB on FOX Check out the best moments between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers. This weekend was a start. Intensity, Roberts explained, is not always overt, the way it was the last time the Dodgers and Padres met in the middle of June, when the memories of last year's contentious division series clash still lingered. A condensed slate of games between the two rivals invited simmering tension. Over the course of seven matchups in 11 days, there were 11 hit batters, a benches-clearing incident, three suspensions and words exchanged between players and managers. Between the lines, though, the Dodgers clearly had the upper hand, taking five of those seven contests. The Padres, with a lineup lacking depth at that point, were more playoff hopefuls than legitimate championship contenders. That has since changed. For the past two months, the Padres have again demonstrated their willingness to do whatever it takes to win now. Their litany of moves at the deadline, which emptied the upper levels of their farm system in an effort to bring a championship to San Diego as quickly as possible, epitomized that. The Dodgers, meanwhile, scoffed at the prices for top talents on the market and have since paid the price for a quiet deadline, scuffling over the past few weeks with a tattered bullpen while the Padres reap the rewards of their audaciousness. With a new-look roster, the Padres entered this weekend — and a stretch of six crucial games in 10 days against the Dodgers — having won 14 of their last 17 games. In the process, they went from trailing in the division by six games on July 25 to leading it by one less than three weeks later. "You know, the division isn't won or lost in the next 10 days," Clayton Kershaw said. "But it will make an impact. We know that." Clayton Kershaw had a vintage outing in Friday's win over the Padres. (Photo by) This time, there was too much at stake for a skirmish between the division rivals. On Friday afternoon, both managers insisted that what happened in the past remained there. The next 72 hours would prove it. There were no spats, back-and-forth barbs or bench-clearing brouhahas. It was just a display of dominance by a Dodgers team that got the upper hand back as it eyes a 12th division title in 13 years. "I think we all know who we are in here," Freddie Freeman said, "and how good we can be." The intensity Roberts sought from his group pertained only to his team's performance after a lengthy spell of uninspired play. Entering the weekend, the Dodgers had just been swept by the Angels. In four of their previous five losses, they held a one-run lead in the eighth inning or later. Their depleted bullpen and volatile lineup had prevented the group from reaching its potential. "I do think that there are some things that we can get that tightened up," Roberts said. "When you're playing against a really good ballclub, and it's going to be 50,000-plus here, excited fans, that kind of heightens intensity and focus." So does having Kershaw on the mound. On Friday at home, Kershaw ended the Dodgers' four-game skid and lowered his ERA for the year to 3.01 with six innings of one-run ball. "It's a game in August, obviously," Kershaw said. "It's not that huge a deal. But the way we were going, it felt like a big game for us." Before the series began, Roberts said he would manage the series with more urgency, considering the opponent and the circumstances, but added that it's still not Game 7 of the World Series. The Friday matchup — a game in which Kershaw was pulled at 76 pitches and Blake Treinen, one of the few healthy high-leverage right-handers in the Dodgers' bullpen, was asked for only one out — exemplified how the Dodgers are still keeping an eye on the future while recognizing the importance of the present. "When you have the talent that we do, you just gotta kind of play good baseball," Roberts said. "And if you do that, we're going to win more than we lose." The Dodgers reclaimed the division lead a day later, letting the Padres run themselves out of first place in a calamity that strayed from the type of play that put San Diego in this position. Within the first two innings of Saturday's 6-0 thrashing, Dodgers catcher Will Smith had already thrown out three runners on the basepaths, Padres starter Dylan Cease had issued six free passes, and Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill let a two-out fly ball pop out of glove at the warning track in center field to score two runs. That set the Dodgers up on Sunday to do what they failed to a week ago, when they let a chance to sweep the AL East frontrunners Toronto Blue Jays at home slip away. They did not want a repeat. Manny Machado and the Padres entered the weekend atop the NL West but are once again behind the Dodgers after a three-game sweep. (Photo by) That was evident with who was behind the plate. Smith, their All-Star catcher, doesn't normally catch in a day game after a night game. This weekend, he caught all three games. "This is a good time to go for the jugular," Roberts said. The Dodgers did just that, attacking early with a three-run homer from Freeman in the first inning, then responding late on a go-ahead homer from Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to finish off the sweep with a 5-4 win. Alex Vesia secured the final five outs after approaching Roberts and telling him he wanted the opportunity in the ninth. "You gotta win the close games," Freeman said. "We've had our chances to win games by one or two runs, and we just weren't able to pull them off there in the last week. We were able to pull them off this week…So gotta keep it going, keep our foot on the gas." Mookie Betts' eighth-inning solo shot proved to be the decided in Sunday's win. (Photo by Emma Sharon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) As the Dodgers wait for their top bullpen pieces to return to health, this weekend was the formula: clutch hits, sound defense and, most importantly, elite starting pitching performances from a rotation that is finally healthy and rounding into form. Starters Kershaw, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow combined to surrender three runs in 17 innings against the Padres' reloaded lineup. The Dodgers have now won eight times in 10 matchups against the Padres this year to secure the season series. The teams will meet for the final time this regular season next weekend in San Diego, when the Dodgers' urgency and intensity will be tested again. "I don't think anyone in that clubhouse doubted our abilities and how good we can be," Roberts said. "Honestly, it was just good to play a really good series, start to finish. I think we respect those guys, I think they respect us, and now we've got to turn the page and move on." Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner . What did you think of this story? share
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Clutch performances by Betts and Vesia help Dodgers sweep Padres for first time since 2023
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gave up the tying run to the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning and was told he was out of the game. A defiant Vesia said no. He went to manager Dave Roberts and told him he wanted the ball again in the ninth if the Dodgers regained the lead. They did, on Mookie Betts' tiebreaking homer, and Vesia was back on the mound facing the Padres' top three hitters. 'It's one of those moments where you got to just trust your player,' Roberts said, 'and I trusted him.' Vesia induced pop fouls from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez before striking out Manny Machado to end the game. Vesia screamed in celebration as the crowd roared. The 5-4 victory extended the Dodgers' lead over the Padres in the NL West to two games. San Diego arrived in Los Angeles with a one-game lead along with a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers came in on a four-game skid. They improved to 8-2 against the Padres this season with their first three-game sweep of San Diego since May 12-13, 2023. The Padres got swept for the first time since May 20-22 at Toronto while getting outscored 14-6. 'We know as a group how good we are and last three games it's shown,' Vesia said. 'We put our heads down and we're going to keep going.' The teams face each other again starting Friday in San Diego. 'What I saw was urgency,' Roberts said. 'The way we played is what we should expect.' Vesia had been in a funk in August, with a 7.20 ERA in seven appearances and opponents hitting .353 against him. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jose Iglesias that tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop's 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023. 'Finally I did something good for the boys,' Betts said. 'I feel like I've done a decent job with the glove, but with the bat I haven't really done much.' Dogged by injuries, slumping offense and bullpen woes in recent weeks, the Dodgers saw their nine-game division lead evaporate earlier in the week. They have 1 1/2 months left to get themselves in a stronger position to open defense of their World Series championship. 'The last three days we sort of performed and not just talked about it,' Roberts said, 'so that was really good to see.' ___ AP MLB:
