Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) is visited at the mound by Dalton Rushing, left, and pitching coach Mark Prior, second from left, in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto follows through on a pitch against the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, right, is congratulated by third base coach Dino Ebel, left, as he rounds third after hitting a solo home run against the San Diego Padres in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates with Miguel Rojas (72) after hitting a solo home run against the San Diego Padres in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman waves as he runs the bases after hitting the first of his two home runs against Padres on Sunday., Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers watches a solo home run in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres walks to the dugout after being pulled from the game in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park on Aug. 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) is visited at the mound by Dalton Rushing, left, and pitching coach Mark Prior, second from left, in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
SAN DIEGO – Clear.
The Dodgers promoted their top prospect, Dalton Rushing, to the majors in May and told him to watch and learn. More recently, Manager Dave Roberts had a talk with Rushing and reminded him that his primary concern should be his defense.
He did more than that Sunday afternoon, shocking the Dodgers’ flat-lining offense to life in an 8-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
“You could rip the whole stadium down with how excited he was,” said Freddie Freeman, who hit two home runs of his own.
“It’s huge,” Roberts said. “We won the season series. They certainly had a lot of momentum coming into today. For our guys to find a way to will their way to salvage a series and finish in the standings tired is a good thing.
“It’s big as far as if there is a tiebreak that matters. But we’re done with those guys until whatever. I feel good. Talented team. I just like the way we responded today.”
Rushing’s three-run home run in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie and prevented a three-game sweep by the Padres that would have sent the Dodgers home in second place. Instead, the two teams emerged from their six-games-in-10-days gauntlet in a dead heat atop the NL West standings with 31 games left in the regular season – none of them against each other.
“I think that’s part of it. When you’re in a pennant race that’s part of the fun,” Roberts said, acknowledging he will be doing “a lot” of scoreboard watching now. “I can compartmentalize a little bit – keep one eye on the scoreboard and still focus on doing my job.”
Freeman wasn’t ready to declare the opening of scoreboard-watching season even as the Dodgers and Padres go their separate ways for the next month.
“It is a sprint. I’ll be honest with you there. It is a sprint now, obviously,” Freeman said. “But you can’t worry about other teams. Just like, the last couple games, if we don’t fix our offense of how our at-bats were going the last couple days, and we fix it today, get better today, but if you’re worrying about other things, that’s just not conducive, it’s not gonna lead to quality things, positive things in the clubhouse.
“So maybe mid-September. When I turn 36 (on Sept. 12), we’ll start scoreboard watching.”
The Dodgers’ at-bats during the first two games of this series were hard to watch. Dominated by Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes – both of whom brought ERAs over 5.00 into their starts – on Friday and Saturday, they faced the Padres’ best starter, Nick Pivetta, on Sunday.
They had him on the ropes in the first inning thanks to two walks wrapped around a single. Teoscar Hernandez came up with the bases loaded and no outs and drove a 3-and-1 fastball 400 feet over the fence in straightaway center field.
But Padres center fielder Ramon Laureano leapt up, caught the ball and brought it back, robbing Hernandez of a grand slam.
A run did score on the sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers’ offense retreated into its shell. Pivetta struck out four of the next five batters and retired 16 of 17. The Dodgers’ only baserunner over the next four innings was a walk of Mookie Betts in the third inning. Betts was on base four times in the game (three singles and that walk).
“Laureano made a great play,” Roberts said of the grand theft. “Yeah, we would have liked to have come away with more from that first inning. But it was just good to see our guys didn’t quit, didn’t relent.”
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto made just one mistake in his six innings – a sinker left around the belt that Elias Diaz hammered for a two-run home run in the third inning.
That was enough to put the Padres on top, 2-1, and send shivers of deja vu throughout Dodgers fandom.
But Freeman bruised Pivetta before he could escape the mound, tying the game with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
An inning later against Jeremiah Estrada, the Dodgers stirred to life. Andy Pages led off with a single to left. Michael Conforto drew a walk. Miguel Rojas flew out, bringing up No. 9 hitter Rushing with his .184 average as a major-league apprentice.
“The swing is what it is. The role is tough, so it’s hard to maintain a swing through however long,” Rushing said. “But if I have the right approach, I can still do damage, still drive in runs. I hit what I hit. Whatever I hit in this role, as long as I can drive in runs and do my job behind home plate. That’s been the positive.”
He battled Estrada to a full count, then got his reward – a hanging slider over the heart of the plate. Rushing sent it flying 387 feet over the wall in right center.
“When I’m in the box and I get put in a hole, it’s almost like, ‘Alright, I’m going to find my way out. I don’t know how. But I’m going to find my way out,’” Rushing said. “That’s what I did. I kind of played the game with him. He threw every pitch that he had, and I was totally banking on just being able to put a good swing on the ball whatever he threw.”
Three batters later, Freeman added his second home run of the day. After scoring one run in each of the first two games in this series (and a total of eight in their four losses on this trip), the Dodgers had an embarrassment of riches with a five-run inning.
Oh-for-10 in the series before the ninth inning Sunday, Shohei Ohtani piled on with his 45th home run of the season.
“Honestly, we did take care of business head to head,” Roberts said. “But right now I’m turning the page on the Padres and looking ahead to the 31 games or however many games we have left and we’ll see how that plays out, the implications of that. But I’m moving forward on that one.”
Originally Published: August 24, 2025 at 4:05 PM PDT