The Los Angeles Dodgers came up with a massive sweep over their NL West rivals this weekend, thanks in large part to a go-ahead home run from Mookie Betts on Sunday afternoon.
Betts, after the San Diego Padres had rallied back from a four-run hole and tied the game up, drilled a deep solo home run over the left field wall at Dodger Stadium. That put the Dodgers up 5-4 and eventually led them to the one-run win.
The former MVP has had a rough season, and currently holds a career-worst .241 batting average.
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The Dodgers had jumped out in front early on Sunday, thanks to a three-run homer from Freddie Freeman and a solo shot from Andy Pages in the first inning off Yu Darvish. The Padres then slowly clawed back in it, and Jose Iglesias drove in Xander Bogaerts in the eighth inning to finally tie things up.
The win Sunday followed a 6-0 win over the Padres on Saturday and a narrow 3-2 win on Friday. That three-game sweep was the Dodgers’ first since they swept the Chicago White Sox in early July. The Padres haven’t been swept since mid-May.
The wins also came at a critical time for the Dodgers, and not just because it snapped a four-game losing skid. They were losing their grip on the NL West race amid a recent surge from the Padres, who entered the series on a five-game win streak. The Padres took a one-game lead in the division race after they rolled over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
But thanks to the sweep, which pushed them to 71-53, the Dodgers now have a two-game lead once again and are alone at the top.
Though they are currently out in front, there is still a big stretch of the season left. The Padres will have plenty of opportunities to rally and win the division — something they haven’t done since 2006. The two teams will run it back with a three-game series at Petco Park starting on Friday, so things could easily flip right back over the next week.
But at least for now, the Dodgers’ have their NL West lead back.
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