Dodgers steamroll Padres to even series after Mets advance and Yankees, Tigers win

It could be Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It could be Jack Flaherty, who spent the night in the bullpen. It could be one then the other. Either one will likely have a short leash.

Game 1: Close Dodgers win

Game 2: Lopsided Padres win

Game 3: Close Padres win

Game 4: Lopsided Dodgers win

Game 5: ???

The Padres went for the kill by starting Game 1 starter Dylan Cease on short rest. They got steamrollered instead.

Rather than celebrate an NLCS berth at home, the Padres got shut down by the Dodgers' bullpen, with eight pitchers combining for nine scoreless innings. Meanwhile, a Dodgers lineup missing Freddie Freeman knocked around Cease, then the Padres bullpen. Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Gavin Lux all homered.

The two teams will now travel to Los Angeles for a Game 5, with the winner facing the New York Mets in the NLCS.

It was a little more adventurous than the Dodgers were probably expecting from the usually dominant Treinen, but he gets through the eighth scoreless. They're up 8-0 and three outs away from playing a Game 5 at home.

Looks like it will be Knack in the ninth.

The Dodgers have their plan, and they're sticking to it. Even with an eight-run lead, they're sending in top relief arm Blake Treinen to face the top of the Padres order in the eighth inning. Treinen hasn't pitched since throwing 39 pitches in Game 1.

Whatever the plan is for the Dodgers, it's working. Hudson works a scoreless seventh, with a quick scare on a two-out Jake Cronenworth triple. Looks like some Padres fans are leaving with their team down 8-0 and two innings to go.

Now this is interesting. The Dodgers have Landon Knack, a guy who can eat multiple innings, in their bullpen with three innings to go. They could have him finish this game. However, Daniel Hudson, a medium-leverage guy, is warming instead.

Given that Game 2 starter Jack Flaherty was warming earlier instead of Knack, the Dodgers might be saving Knack to back up Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who's had trouble with San Diego, in Game 5 while letting Hudson, Flaherty, Edgardo Henriquez or Ben Casparius finish the game.

Gavin Lux welcomes Peralta with a two-run homer to right. It's 8-0 Dodgers, and L.A. probably doesn't have to worry about using the rest of the team's high-leverage arms tonight.

The call stands. Now the Padres pull Alek Jacob for Wandy Peralta, with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh inning.

The Dodgers move up 6-0 as Tommy Edman lays down a perfect bunt with runners on the corners and one out. He was called out, but the Dodgers are challenging the call at first. Looks like he might have been safe.

Manny Machado hit one deep. He watched it fly. Petco Park began erupting.

Chris Taylor caught it at the warning track. One batter later, Jackson Merrill grounded out to end the sixth inning with the Padres still down 5-0.

Phillips threw only six pitches that inning, which isn't nothing.

Shohei Ohtani works a nine-pitch walk and that will do it for Estrada, who was at 29 pitches after an inning-plus of work. Alek Jacob comes and gets Mookie Betts to pop up after two pitches.

Phillips got ahead 0-2 on Tatis, who then took two balls and sent the next pitch just short of the warning track in right-center. That was a big at-bat, and the Dodgers bullpen is now more than halfway to landing this plane.

The remaining available arms in the Dodgers pen with four innings to go: Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, Jack Flaherty, Ben Casparius and Landon Knack.

The Dodgers have a five-run lead, but it's an elimination game. After Alex Vesia strikes out Kyle Higashioka and gets a Luis Arraez flyout, the Dodgers are bringing in another top arm in Evan Phillips to face Fernando Tatis Jr. with two runners and two outs.

Peralta was 4-for-20 with eight strikeouts against left-handers in the regular season, but he has two hits off the Dodgers' two bullpen lefties in this game. Evan Phillips is warming now, while Vesia walked Jake Cronenworth.

The Padres have two men on with no outs and could make this game interesting very quickly.

Even with the Dodgers up five runs, it might be about to get weird with their bullpen. Flaherty could have been a bullpen option in Game 5, assuming the Dodgers got there, but pitching him here would line him up to pitch Game 1 of the NLCS on three days rest.

Max Muncy hits a ball to deep right-center, but Jackson Merrill leaps and grabs it at the top of the wall. Could have been a double, could have been a homer, a big play either way for the Rookie of the Year contender.

Now Jeremiah Estrada comes into the game for Morejon.

So far, so good for the Dodgers' bullpen game plan. They've allowed two hits in four scoreless innings with four strikeouts so far.

Important to note: They still have Landon Knack, who could have started this game and will be an option if the Dodgers want a guy to eat multiple innings if they're feeling comfortable with the lead.

Upon further review, Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel put the stop sign up after seeing the ball hit the ump, but Ohtani's head was down, likely after seeing the first bounce.

The Dodgers... are not happy.

Ohtani walked and took second on a fly ball to center (he is very fast).

A Teoscar Hernandez hit should have scored him after it bounced off Manny Machado's glove near the third-base line, but the ball hit the third-base ump and bounced back to Machado, who threw Ohtani out at home by 10 feet.

And that's how the Padres got their first scoreless inning of the game.

Jurickson Profar hits an easy fly ball to end the third inning. Like with Brasier, the Dodgers might keep Kopech in to face Manny Machado in the next inning before going to Vesia against Merrill.

Kopech throws a pitch way high and a bit inside, enough that Fernando Tatis Jr. drops to the ground and Padres manager Mike Shildt talks to the ump about the pitch (which was clearly not intentional). Tatis responds with a ground-rule double.

Left-hander Alex Vesia is now warming, likely to face Jackson Merrill in a couple of at-bats.

And that'll do it. The Yankees win 3-2 and now hold a 2-1 series lead over the Royals.

They have a chance to close out this ALDS tomorrow in Kansas City.

Even up five runs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is getting aggressive. Michael Kopech, one of the L.A. late-inning arms, comes in for the third inning to face 9-1-2 in the Padres' lineup.

Soto reached first on a brutal error by the Royals, and then Aaron Judge was walked with just one out on the board. The Royals, though, survived when Wells flied out to center and Stanton fouled out to first.

The Yankees can close this out with three more outs.

Hoeing stays in to strike out Tommy Edman (who's weak against right-handers), and now it's Adrian Morejon to face the bottom of the Dodgers' order.

The Dodgers look like a completely different team right now. Max Muncy led off the third with a double off Brian Hoeing, and then Will Smith, who has had some drama with the Padres, followed with a two-run homer to put his team up five. It's Smith's first hit of the postseason.

A three-run lead is by no means comfortable against a lineup such as the Padres', but it's still bigger than the Dodgers have had in two years.

Witt singled to left with just an out on the board in the eighth for the Royals, and Perez hit him to third with a single after Anthony Volpe made a wild diving catch to make the second out of the inning. But Gurriel flied out to center, and the Yankees survived.

That was a perfect opportunity for the Royals, and they couldn't get it done. We'll head to the ninth now with the Yankees still in control.

The Padres got a pair of two-out baserunners with a Xander Bogaerts walk and David Peralta single, but Jake Cronenworth pops out to keep the inning scoreless. The Dodgers started warming up Michael Kopech, one of their top arms, so we'll see if he gets the third inning.

Ryan Brasier does his job with 4 up, 4 down against the Padres' potent top of the lineup. Southpaw Anthony Banda comes in to face left-handed rookie Jackson Merrill.

That home run from Giancarlo Stanton was the first Yankees go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in the postseason in more than a decade.

The Dodgers bullpen has nine innings to cover, so they're keeping Brasier in to face Manny Machado after a good first inning.

Brian Hoeing comes in for Cease and allows a first-pitch single to Mookie Betts. 3-0 Dodgers, but that's all they get after Teoscar Hernandez grounds out.

Dylan Cease walked Max Muncy and allowed a single to Kiké Hernández, giving Shohei Ohtani runners on the corners with two outs. Ohtani came through with a single to put L.A. up 2-0 and is now 15 for his past 18 with runners in scoring position.

That will be all the Padres get from Cease, who is pulled after 1 2/3 innings and 38 pitches.

Giancarlo Stanton just hit a deep solo shot well over the left-field wall, and the Yankees are back in the lead. It's 3-2 in the eighth.

Well, that's one inning down. Brasier throws a 1-2-3 first inning, striking out Tatis on three pitches. He might not be done, with the right-handed Manny Machado due up and the left-handed Anthony Banda warmed up behind him.

Brady Singer gets the job done. He just struck Aaron Judge out swinging, so the Royals will head to the bottom of the seventh now with the 2-2 tie intact.

The Padres star has been a monster so far in the playoffs. Ryan Brasier won the first go-around.

This could be an interesting wrinkle. Jack Flaherty took the loss in Game 2, but could make a bullpen appearance down the line. Meanwhile, left-hander Anthony Banda is warming up behind opener Ryan Brasier.

Long came close to making it out of the seventh, but the Royals are pulling him now after he walked Soto. So it'll be Brady Singer coming in to pitch to Aaron Judge with two outs.

The Padres avoid further damage after a Teoscar Hernandez single, with Jurickson Profar ending the inning with a diving catch to take a single from Will Smith. However, it might not be a great sign that the Dodgers hit three balls with exit velocities of at least 100 mph. San Diego took a significant risk by pitching Cease here and that wasn't the best start.

Another game, another Mookie Betts home run ball in the first inning. This one, unlike the last two games, went to center field, and the Padres outfield did not catch it. It's 1-0 Dodgers.

Dylan Cease, pitching on short rest after a rough Game 1, throws a 100 mph fastball past Shohei Ohtani and we're off in San Diego.

Giancarlo Stanton just successfully stole second for the Yankees — it was his first stolen base in the postseason since his playoff debut in 2018 — but the Royals made it out of the sixth without giving up a run. It's still 2-2.

Patrick Mahomes, a part-owner of the Royals, was loving their rally there in the fifth.

The Yankees are pulling Clarke Schmidt from the mound after that two-run burst from the Royals. Clay Holmes came out to relieve him, and he managed to end the inning without allowing any more damage.

It's 2-2 now after 5.

Isbel just hit a deep double into the left field corner to score one for the Royals, and then Massey hit a triple that just barely got past Soto in right to hit Isbel home and even this game up in the fifth.

It's suddenly 2-2.

After loading up the bases in the fifth, Juan Soto just hit a deep sac fly to score another for the Yankees. Aaron Judge flew out to center to follow Soto, so the Yankees will take a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth.

The dream season for the New York Mets continues. As do the postseason nightmares for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Francisco Lindor's sixth-inning grand slam was the difference in the game as the Mets scored a 4-1 win over the Phillies.

The win continues an unlikely run that saw the Mets seemingly out of the postseason race at the All-Star break and needing a win on the last day of the regular season just to make the playoffs. Now, they’re eight wins away from a World Series championship. They’ll face the winner between the Padres and Dodgers for the NL pennant.

The loss marks a crushing disappointment for a Phillies team many believed was equipped to win a championship this year.