SAN DIEGO — That dragon up the freeway the Padres have spent the past decade trying to slay? They’re one game away — and they might not even need to take another trip back up the freeway to do it.
Petco Park’s first playoff game before fans in 16 years brought the goods. San Diego packed the place well before first pitch, gold towels waving and a cacophony of noise from the outset.
The Padres responded with an edge-of-your-seat 2-1 victory in Game 3 against the Dodgers. They now lead the National League Division Series by that same total and can earn their first trip to the NL Championship Series since 1998 with a victory in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Joe Musgrove, who pitched the clincher for the Padres in New York last weekend, gets the ball.
Padres left-hander Blake Snell — making his first postseason start against the Dodgers since his infamous quick hook in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series — was mostly sharp in Game 3, allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings. Snell struck out six and worked his way around plenty of traffic.
When Max Muncy doubled with one out in the sixth, Snell’s night was done, and he exited to a standing ovation. Unlike that start in Game 6 of the World Series, his bullpen finished the job. The San Diego relief corps continued its dominant run with 3 2/3 scoreless frames, and has not allowed a Dodgers run in 12 2/3 innings this series.
Ultimately, Trent Grisham’s fourth-inning solo homer — his postseason-leading third — proved decisive.
In the history of best-of-five postseason series, teams holding a 2-1 lead have gone on to win the series 67 of 93 times (72%). In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams up 2-1 and playing Game 4 in their home ballparks have advanced 21 of 26 times (81%). In 15 of those instances, the series has ended in Game 4.
If the Padres can finish it, it would cap one of the sport’s truly monumental upsets. The Dodgers finished the regular season with 22 more wins than the Padres. No team has won a postseason series against a team as many games above them in the standings since the 1906 White Sox.
The Padres are one win away.