Across a seven-game stretch in the last 11 days, the Dodgers-Padres rivalry saw ten batters getting drilled and benches getting emptied. Even managers were ejected. Doesn’t really seem like June! Because it’s playoff-level tension in Los Angeles. Both benches were emptied during the ninth inning in the Thursday finale at Dodger Stadium. In fact, twice in this series, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani were hit by pitches.

The Padres secured the 5-3 victory, but the spotlight was barely on the game this time. The Padres, with a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning, saw Dodgers reliever Jack Little’s major league debut. His 1-1 fastball hit Tatis Jr. in his right hand. Padres manager Mike Shildt rushed to Tatis.

After checking up on him, Shildt didn’t wait a jiffy to confront Roberts. Roberts, just as furious, was ready to meet Shildt’s intensity. Well, at the bottom of the same inning, Ohtani was hit too by Robert Suarez’s 100 mph fastball. Soon enough, Suarez was ejected. Eventually, the game continued till the Padres scored their win.

However, after the game, the Dodgers’ skipper didn’t hold back his frustration. In the postgame media appearance, Dave Roberts stood firm by defending Jack Little’s pitch. “Jack Little was making his major league debut, and he’s trying to get through the outing, and we’re trying to get him to finish the game… obviously, I think everyone knows there was no intent.” 

In fact, if anything, he was concerned about Tatis getting hit. “I didn’t feel good about Tatis. A great player, a good guy, getting hit.” While he said that, he also accused Shildt of taking the situation personally. “I felt that he (Shildt) was trying to make it personal with me.” Apparently Shildt had been infuriated about Tatis getting hit thrice by Dodgers’ pitchers this season.

For the record, after Tatis got his X-rays, the results thankfully came out negative. However, before his reports came in, Manny Machado, the Padres’ third baseman and Tatis’ teammate, issued a warning against the Dodgers. He reportedly said that the Dodgers must “pray” that scans on Tatis Jr.’s hand come back negative. “They better put out a candle,” he exclaimed.

However, from where the Dodgers stand, they cleared the air that Tatis’ getting hit wasn’t intentional. “Yeah, he was hit, but that is baseball. There was no intent from any of our guys to hit their guys,” Roberts shared.

But when it came down to Ohtani getting hit, Roberts believed it was intentional. “Right-handed pitcher going across the court to hit Shohei up and in… clearly there was an intent behind it,” Roberts revealed that Ohtani felt the pitch was intentional. “He (Ohtani) knew it was intentional. He wasn’t hurt by it, and he didn’t want any more drama.”

Certainly, the drama on Thursday knew no bounds.

Suarez being tossed after drilling Ohtani: Late-inning Dodgers-Padres meltdown

It was pure chaos—the last inning of the Padres-Dodgers series. The Padres were leading by five when suddenly it all went downhill. During the ninth, Padres pitcher Reynolds walked the first two batters.

Naturally, it prompted skipper Mike Shildt to get in Robert Suarez. Meanwhile, Ohtani was in the batter’s box, unaware of the intensity ahead. Suarez’s 100 mph fastball hit Ohtani in the upper back. Ohtani’s teammates from the dugout, visibly furious, almost got up to flood the field. Ohtani, visibly in pain, waved them to stay there.

He didn’t want any more drama. But rightfully so, the decision was taken to eject Suarez. Dodgers skipper Roberts believed it was a deliberate move. But for the record, in Suarez’s entire career, he had just hit two left-handed pitchers. Both instances go back to 2022.

After Suarez’s ejection, Yuki Matsui took over to close the game. It turned out to be the first career-saving opportunity for him. And he didn’t give that up. He delivered an unforgettable finale, his first career save, that helped the Padres stay in the lead despite all the heated exchanges.

Woah, the Dodgers-Padres series was a lot to take in. Isn’t it? It is going to live rent-free in our heads for the near future.