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LOS ANGELES — On the night of the Oscars, it was tough to find a better drama than the matchup between the Dodgers and the Padres on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the seventh battle between two of the most talented teams in the Majors, the Dodgers punched early. The Padres, however, hit right back in the later innings. In the end, the Dodgers’ bullpen was unable to shut the door in a wild 8-7 loss to the Padres in 11 innings.
It was the first time since Aug. 10, 2011, against the Phillies, that the Dodgers lost a game in which they led by six or more runs. That’s a stretch of 228 consecutive games.
The first six games between the Dodgers and Padres were all decided in the last two innings of the game. The seventh meeting was no different, though it appeared the Dodgers had full control of the series finale. Chris Taylor homered in a five-run sixth inning that gave L.A. a 7-1 lead and had a series split just nine outs away.
But nothing in the first seven games has been easy, and the Padres answered back. San Diego scored two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth innings to make it a 7-5 game. With the Dodgers trying to stay away from Kenley Jansen and Blake Treinen, who both pitched on Saturday, L.A. turned to Jimmy Nelson in the ninth to try to secure the first save of his career.
The decision didn’t work, as the Padres put up another two-spot to send the game into extra innings. Nelson was able to keep it tied in the 10th by striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. But in the 11th, Tatis, who was the designated man on second base to start the inning, scored the winning run on an Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly.