You couldn’t have scripted a weirder finish to the Dodgers’ 5-4 win over the Padres on Saturday night, which ended in the 12th inning after a temporary power outage swept through Dodger Stadium and the winning run was scored on a bloop double.
Following eight innings of three-run, nine-strikeout ball from Clayton Kershaw and Max Muncy’s and Manny Machado’s 30th home runs of the year, the Dodgers lost the chance to clinch in regulation after Kenley Jansen gave up a game-tying solo home run to Austin Hedges in the ninth. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th and 11th -- Kenta Maeda and Caleb Ferguson combined for two hits and three strikeouts, never allowing a baserunner past first base, while the Padres’ Craig Stammen and Jose Castillo held the Dodgers hitless for six at-bats.
In the 12th, the Padres lost their chance to capitalize on Manuel Margot’s one-out single after Freddy Galvis stranded him at second base with an inning-ending line out. Matt Kemp drew a four-pitch walk from Robert Stock to kick off the bottom of the inning, but had just made it to second base when the lights went out at Dodger Stadium and sparked a 19-minute delay.
When the lights flickered back on and play resumed, Justin Turner wasted no time plating the winning run. He skied a two-out double down the right field line -- one that bounced just out of reach of all three of the Padres’ outfielders -- giving Kemp just enough time to sprint home from second base without fear of evading a tag at the plate.
The Dodgers will go for the sweep at 4:10 PM EDT on Sunday when southpaws Robbie Erlin and Hyun-Jin Ryu face off, though it’s hard to imagine they’ll find a more dramatic way to finish off this series.
