The Dodgers didn’t win Thursday. But they got something far more valuable before they even took the field for their 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.
With the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds earlier in the day, the Dodgers clinched the second seed in the National League playoffs and the first-round bye that goes with it. That means the Dodgers will get five days off next week to prepare for their playoff opener, a godsend for a bruised and bloodied team that has stumbled to the finish of the regular season.
“I think we all know why it’s important,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said of the break. “There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here, a lot of aches and pains this year.”
For the Padres (89-70), the victory was important because it clinched a wild-card berth and a franchise-record third consecutive trip to the postseason.
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In addition to Freeman, who has been hobbled all month by a sore right knee, the Dodgers are rushing to get designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and closer Edwin Díaz healthy. Both had big games Thursday with Ohtani going two for five with a run batted in, the first time he’s had multiple hits or an RBI in more than a month. Díaz, meanwhile, pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two.
Other players also are getting healthy. Center fielder Andy Pages, who missed a month with a broken hand, returned to the lineup three days ago. Dalton Rushing, who is competing for a bench spot on the postseason roster, is expected to be activated off the injured list Friday. Left-hander Blake Snell, who came out of his last start nine days ago after just an inning, will make his final postseason tuneup Saturday.
All of them will benefit from some additional rest before their playoff opener, at Dodger Stadium, on Oct. 3.
And speaking of Dodger Stadium, the No. 2 playoff seed carries another important perk: the home-field advantage for the Division Series — and possibly the World Series, if the Dodgers make it that far. Home has certainly been an advantage for the Dodgers, who drew a sellout crowd of 53,027 Thursday, pushing the team’s total home attendance over 4 million for the second straight year.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a run-scoring double in the ninth inning against the Padres on Thursday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s more turning of the turnstiles than any venue in the world,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The amazing thing is that it’s not just localized. It’s international. Everyone looks different at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s spectacular and our players certainly feed off of it.”
The Dodgers are one of five franchises in big-league history to draw more than 4 million fans in a season but just two others — the Toronto Blue Jays, from 1991-93, and the New York Yankees, in the final four years at old Yankee Stadium — did it in consecutive seasons.
And the Dodgers are the only team to do it since 2008. They also lead the majors in road attendance this season, having drawn 2.82 million, or 36,159 a game. For some fans, it’s hard to separate their support from the team’s success.
San Diego’s Sung-mun Song, right, scores past Dodgers catcher Hunter Feduccia during the seventh inning Thursday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
“A synergy exists between we the fans and the players,” said Charles Flores, an associate professor at Cal State L.A. and lifelong Dodgers fan who attended more than a dozen games this season. “One inspires the other.”
Russ Hoffman of Santa Clarita, a season-ticket holder for 40 years, agrees.
“The atmosphere created by drawing so many fans definitely contributes to their success,” he said. “Winning continuously drives the attendance and the current ownership has committed the assets to do that.”
That edge can be even bigger in the playoffs. The Dodgers lost just five of 16 postseason games at home — a .688 winning percentage — en route to World Series titles the last two years.
“During the playoffs, Dodger Stadium is a tough place to play because it’s 56,000 crazed fans yelling on every play,” said Stan Brooks, an award-winning film producer and longtime season-ticket holder. “The fans are so loud and the environment is so intense every night.”
The Dodgers (97-62) will finish the regular season with three games this weekend in San Francisco, where they will continue their preparation for the postseason.
In the final home game of the regular season Mookie Betts, dropped to second in the lineup with Ohtani’s return, went three for four with a walk, raising his average for September to .367, while Freeman had two hits for the third time in four games.
“I’m just encouraged with Shohei getting a couple hits, Mookie staying hot. That’s what it’s all about,” Freeman said. “Getting hot right now.
“That’s all we were looking forward to this last week is getting our guys back on the field.”
That didn’t add up to much offense Thursday, with the Dodgers stranding eight runners and going 0 for 8 with men in scoring position through eight innings. They avoided their first shutout of the season at home on Adrian Morejon’s balk in the eighth before Ohtani doubled in the second run with two outs in the ninth.
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On the mound, Tyler Glasnow, who will be the Dodgers’ fourth starter in the postseason, was perfect through three innings. He walked Fernando Tatis Jr. on four pitches to start the fourth but didn’t allow another Padres batter to reach base until Ethan Salas singled with one out in the sixth.
That proved costly when Tatis singled on the next pitch, sending Salas to third, from where he scored on Dustin Harris’ sacrifice fly, putting the Padres ahead to stay.
Glasnow (5-2) got out of the inning by striking out Manny Machado, giving him a season-high 11 strikeouts and 21 in his last two starts. But San Diego then blew the game open in the seventh, chasing Glasnow and scoring three times off reliever Justin Wrobleski on run-scoring singles by Austin Hayes, Salas and Tatis.
Staff writer Maddie Lee contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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