Dodgers sneak past Padres in 9th, move atop NL West

Field Level Media|published: Wed 20th May, 01:02 2026

May 19, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Andy Pages' sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday night lifted the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

Max Muncy started the winning rally by drawing a one-out walk from Mason Miller (1-1). Pinch runner Alex Call moved up to third when Miller's pickoff throw glanced off the glove of first baseman Ty France for a two-base error.

Pages then lofted a 2-2 fastball to right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Call slid home safely on a close play, enabling Los Angeles to snap San Diego's four-game winning streak and regain first place in the National League West by a half-game.

Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings. Will Klein handled the bottom of the ninth for his first career save.

Freddie Freeman homered twice as Los Angeles won for the sixth time in seven games.

After San Diego prevailed 1-0 on Monday in a series opener defined by power pitching, the stars came out in the first inning on Tuesday. After Shohei Ohtani led off with a double, Freeman cracked a one-out, two-run shot to left field that traveled an estimated 356 feet.

Manny Machado answered in the bottom of the inning, rifling Emmet Sheehan's fastball an estimated 404 feet over the center field wall with Gavin Sheets aboard after a two-out walk. It was Machado's seventh homer.

Miguel Andujar gave the Padres a 4-2 lead in the third when he belted a two-run homer into the left field seats after Tatis legged out an infield hit. It was Andujar's fifth homer of the year and his second in as many nights.

Los Angeles chipped away at the lead in the fifth, drawing within a run when Teoscar Hernandez led off with a double and scored on infield outs by Hyeseong Kim and Ohtani. The Dodgers tied it when Freeman led off the sixth with his second homer of the night and sixth of the season.

That shot left both started with no-decisions. Sheehan allowed four runs on five hits and a walk in four innings, fanning two. San Diego's Griffin Canning lasted five innings, yielding four hits and three runs while walking one and whiffing five.

--Field Level Media