Padres vs Dodgers Recap: Dodgers explode to 12-7 win

The Dodgers rolled into San Diego with a 57-31 record and momentum on their side. Los Angeles had won their last game and was clicking in every way. The Padres limped in at 43-43, losing six straight games. This was their road trip, and they desperately needed a win. Roki Sasaki took the mound for the Dodgers while Randy Vásquez started for San Diego. The crowd at Dodger Stadium knew what was coming: the best offense in baseball taking on a Padres pitching staff trying to hold ground. When the first pitch flew, nobody knew this game would turn into a slugfest. Both teams were ready to swing. The Padres came to fight. But the Dodgers had other plans.

Manny Machado stepped up in the top of the first inning. Roki Sasaki's 97 mph fastball came flying in. Machado connected and the ball rocketed over center field. It cleared the wall at 408 feet with Fernando Tatis Jr. scoring ahead of him. Padres led 2-0. Then Jackson Merrill came up and crushed an 84 mph slider into left-center. The ball soared 383 feet. It was 3-0 Padres. But the Dodgers answered back hard. Dalton Rushing smashed a homer off Randy Vásquez in the second inning. Kyle Tucker scored with him. In the fourth inning, Rushing and the Dodgers' bats kept swinging. Pages doubled, Betts doubled, Muncy singled. Four straight runs crossed. Los Angeles took control of this game completely.

The Dodgers kept hitting in the fifth inning. Tommy Edman doubled and Rushing scored. Then a wild pitch by Yuki Matsui let Edman score again. The lead grew to 10-6. In the sixth, Rushing hit a sacrifice fly and Tucker scored. It was 11-6. The Padres got one more run in the ninth inning when Miguel Andujar singled and Samad Taylor scored. But it was too little, too late. The Dodgers won 12-7 and stayed dominant in the division. Los Angeles improved to 58-31 with the win. San Diego dropped to 43-44 and extended their losing streak to seven games. The Dodgers' pitching held up after Sasaki left the game. Will Klein came in and threw two scoreless innings. The Dodgers' offense simply overpowered the Padres on this night.