LOS ANGELES — Never underestimate the restorative powers of a good night’s sleep.
After a cross-country flight that brought them back from New York in the late-night hours, the Dodgers were held to one run on four hits Friday night. Given a day to sleep in and shake off the effects of jet lag, they pounded the San Diego Padres, hitting four home runs through the super-heated Southern California air in a 12-1 rout on Saturday night.
The win snapped the Dodgers’ first three-game losing streak since June 8-10 and shrank their magic number to clinch another NL West title down to 12.
“A good night’s sleep definitely does help,” said Mookie Betts, who hit one of the homers. “Obviously we don’t have any excuses. We’re not the only team that’s happened to. It happens to everyone. But it’s something that somehow, you just got to get some will power and get through and we didn’t. Luckily today we came out and Julio pitched well and we played well.”
Trea Turner got a little ‘me’ time after the late arrival, getting his first day off this season on Friday and responded with a two-run home run in his first at-bat Saturday. Betts got his break in the form of a night at second base – an “abbreviated off day on the dirt,” Dave Roberts called it – and responded with a three-run home run, breaking his previous career-high in homers.
“He’s just playing really good baseball,” Roberts said. “He’s slugging a lot more recently (10 home runs since the start of August). That’s just a byproduct of he’s just seeing it so well. It just seems like every at-bat he’s finding a barrel, hitting the ball out of the ballpark, taking a good at-bat.”
Justin Turner hit the third homer off Padres starter Sean Manaea who has found facing the Dodgers the most daunting part of his move from Oakland to San Diego this season. In three starts against the Dodgers this season, Manaea has a 15.63 ERA (22 earned runs in 12⅔ innings) and the Dodgers have batted .397 (25 for 63) with five doubles, a triple and five home runs.
“I have no idea. I truly don’t know,” Betts said of the Dodgers’ tormenting of Manaea. “Maybe he just gets us on the rest days.”
Betts led off with that triple in the bottom of the first inning, a gift from Padres right fielder Juan Soto who took a less-than-direct route towards the slicing line drive then tumbled to the ground after he was unable to reach it.
Turner followed with his first home run in 113 plate appearances and first extra-base hit in 33. He had taken a 7-for-30 slump into his first off day Friday.
In the third, Freddie Freeman singled off the second base bag (the first of his three hits in the game) and scored from first base on Will Smith’s two-out double. Smith later added a three-run home run for a four-RBI night, giving him 79 for the season. Saturday’s came as a DH but he leads all catchers in RBI.
Betts’ 33rd home run of the season came in the fourth inning with two on and two out. It topped his previous best (32 during his AL MVP season in 2018) and tied Joc Pederson (2019) for the most in franchise history from a leadoff hitter.
“I think if you’d ask who was going to lead our team in homers this year I don’t think Mookie would have been many people’s first choice,” Roberts said. “But he’s having a tremendous MVP-type season. He can still get a hit, take a walk, control the strike zone. Those are all the ingredients you want from an elite player.”
Turner’s two-run home run was only his second since July 8 (and 10th of the season). But he has come alive offensively in that time, batting .345 (38 for 110) with 24 RBIs in his past 30 games.
That was more than enough to back Julio Urias who seems to be getting stronger as the season goes on. He allowed one run on two hits (one of them a solo home run by Manny Machado that did not go over well with the Dodger Stadium crowd) in six innings against the Padres.
He struck out only two and walked three but it was the sixth consecutive start in which Urias has allowed one run or no runs and the eighth time in his past nine starts. In 16 starts since the beginning of June, Urias has gone 12-2 with a 1.94 ERA, holding batters to a .172 average.
“I just try to stay the same and do my job,” Urias said in Spanish. “I trust what we’re doing, the gameplans from the coaches. The job the coaches do during the week helps us be ready for our starts.”
The last pitcher to get the final out in a World Series-clinching game for the Dodgers has emerged as their Game 1 starter when they pursue another title next month.
“We’re putting ourselves in a situation where we can set the rotation,” Roberts acknowledged. “But he’s a top-end guy. Every year he’s gotten better and earned that potential opportunity.”
Blake Treinen made his first big-league appearance since April 14, retiring the side in order in the seventh inning.