Sure, lots of offense is great. But every now and then it’s darn fun to watch a good, old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. That’s exactly what we 43,388 fans at Petco Park got when the Padres and Dodgers opened a 3-game series in the East Village. Michael King tossed 7.0 scintillating, striking out 11 Dodgers in arguably the best start of his career. Tyler Glasnow was nearly as good, punching out 10 in his 7.0 innings on the hill. With the starters battling to a near standstill it came down to the bullpens and who would get the big hit when it mattered most. Over the last couple of decades or so that’s been the Dodgers. That’s before the Friars had Luis Arraez. The newest Padre picked a fantastic time for his 1st hit at home, ripping a single to centerfield to bring home the winning run in a 2-1 walkoff win over the Dodgers, moving the Padres to 4-2 against their longtime tormentors in 2024. King was stellar in his 7.0 shutout innings (Too bad he didn’t get a win for the effort). Over his last two starts the righty has thrown 13.0 innings without allowing a run, dropping his season ERA from 5.00 to 3.67 and showing the kind of stuff that the Padres were dreaming on when they made him the centerpiece of the trade that sent Juan Soto to New York. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow is pretty good, too. He was on a roll early, riding a string of five straight strikeouts when Luis Campusano stepped to the plate in the 3rd inning looking for a fastball. The first pitch he saw was a 97 MPH heater and he did not miss. Campy launched his 3rd home run of the year 429 feet into the left-centerfield seats, a solo shot that put the Padres on top 1-0. That was the only run (and the only hit) Glasnow gave up in 7.0 innings. With the starters both at their pitch limits the game was turned over to the bullpens. Yuki Matsui has been shaky of late and that trend continued against LA. Matsui gave up a single off his leg to Mookie Betts and a double to Shohei Ohtani. Betts scored on a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman to tie it 1-1 but Matsui was bailed out when Max Muncy hit a grounder up the middle and Ha-Seong Kim made a tremendous play to turn a 6-3 double play and end the threat. Blake Treinen was not challenged in the 8th and Robert Suarez continued his utter dominance with a 1-2-3 top of the 9th. Michael Grove came on to try and force extra innings and was met with a line drive double from Campusano, putting the winning run in scoring position. But, Kim struck out trying to bunt, setting the stage for the new kid in town. Luis Arraez, the hit machine who draws comparisons to Tony Gwynn, lined a shot to centerfield to bring home pinch-runner Tyler Wade with the game-winning run, sending Petco Park into a frenzy. The Padres can win the series on Saturday night when Matt Waldron takes the mound against James Paxton. LISTEN: With NBC 7 San Diego’s Darnay Tripp and Derek Togerson behind the mic, will cover all things San Diego Padres. Interviews, analysis, behind-the-scenes…the ups, downs, and everything in between.
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