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Dodgers win NL West as Buehler delivers and big hits from Smith, Shohei and Mookie lead comeback – Dodgers Digest

With a chance to win the NL West tonight, they had a surprising pitching duel Walker Buhler And Joe Musgrove. It was the Padres who took the lead first and things didn't look good for the Dodger hitters, but Will Smith turned the game around in a flash and Shohei Ohtani And Mookie Betts came through with strong hitting and gave them the lead for good with a 7-2 win that secured the division.

However, the celebration was not in full swing as there are fears Freddie FreemanAnkle injury.

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With a chance to win, the Dodgers had their big opponent in Walker Buehler at the start. However, that reputation was already developing before his second elbow surgery, so he was a big question mark.

Luckily for the Dodgers, he turned in one of his best starts since returning. He worked with two singles in the 1st, a single in the 2nd and a single in the 4th, and suffered mostly from contact that could have gone one way or the other.

His biggest obstacle was the 5th, where he was ahead with one out David Peralta 0-2 and then went to him. The No. 9 batsman Kyle Higashioka ripped a double to put a pair in scoring position, but Buehler limited the damage thanks to one Luis Arraez Groundout that scored a run and got one Fernando Tatis Jr. Groundout to end the threat (though not before giving them a scare with a near-homer foul).

Buehler provided exactly what they needed and (in hindsight) might not have allowed a run had they played along: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 71 pitches.

So at that point it was 1-0 for the Padres because the Dodger hitters couldn't do anything against Joe Musgrove.

They got a one-out single in the first game and then made nine straight outs until they finally got their first chance in the fourth after a one-out double by Freddie Freeman, but Teoscar Hernandez And Max Muncy Both flew to the right and killed it. After a two-out double, they got another chance in the 5th Gavin LuxBut Andy Pages also flew out harmlessly and Musgrove rolled on.

The Dodgers pen gave him a little more breathing room in the 6th Evan Phillips stepped in and immediately gave up two consecutive singles. A bunt ensued and Phillips was right back at it, but was unable to move into the lead in third place. That mistake by either him or, more likely, Will Smith predictably cost them a loss, as Xander Boegaerts hit a sacrifice throw to make it 2-0 for the Padres. Anthony Banda That's when he stepped in and took out the final to at least stop the bleeding.

Banda continued again in the seventh, pitching a flawless inning.

The reality is that the bats just couldn't get it going. The 6th started with a single by Shohei Ohtani and then it went to a groundout, flyout and strikeout behind him. I guess he was moved to third in the process? I don't know.

Another hopefully good rally began in the 7th when Max Muncy drew a leadoff walk, and this time the game changed dramatically when Will Smith smashed his 20th dinger of the year up the middle.

He knew it too.

After Musgrove got the first hit out of the inning, the Padres also turned to their pen and the Dodgers went back to work. Enrique Hernández Pinch hit and single, then Andy Pages got interference from a lucky catcher while down 2-0 in the count. That brought in Shohei Ohtani, who hit a single to right to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead, and two runners were put in scoring position after Fernando Tatis Jr. threw wildly trying to move Pages to third.

That proved important as Mookie Betts finally got up in the series, scoring a single in both runs to make it 5-2.

Unfortunately, Freddie Freeman was injured on the next play trying to avoid a hit on a groundout, and after an intentional walk to Teoscar, Max Muncy grounded out at the end of the frame.

Most importantly, the injury has drained energy from the building and now we can only hope for the best.

Back to the game, Blake Treinen Coming into the game in eighth place, he gained a lead and made some decent contact but ultimately kept the lead.

Well, the bats at least continued their momentum, as an Enrique Hernandez single was followed by Pages' 12th home run of the year, making it 7-2.

Shohei also reached a total of 400 bases.

This creates a pleasant atmosphere Michael Kopech Appearance that gave up a double, but that was it.

NL WEST

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In a last-second decision, Banda was activated Brent Honeywell Jr.and that was of course important tonight.

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NL RECORD
Dodgers 95-64
Phillies 94-65 (1GB)

No more NL West charts as the Dodgers won the division.

The Dodgers now travel to the dreaded Coors Field for the final series of the season, which of course will be against the Rockies starting at 2:10 p.m. HT/5:10 p.m. PT/8:10 p.m. ET. Fortunately, it no longer matters at all. It will be a bullpen game for the Dodgers Cal Quantrill.

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