Dodgers Clobber Padres in Regular Season Home Finale

The Dodgers and Padres squared off on Sunday afternoon, in what will be the final regular season home game at Chavez Ravine. Hyun-jin Ryu got the start in a masterful outing and excellent way to send off the Dodger faithful.

Hyun-Jin Ryu has thrown five shutout innings, on 69 pitches …

---

---

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 18, 2018

The Korean Monster had one heck of a day in Los Angeles, collecting three hits himself. Ryu also happened to have a pretty great day on the mound as well. He tossed six shutout innings and struck out eight without allowing a walk. He also just gave up four hits in the process. He has a 1.93 earned run average over his last eight starts when he returned from the disabled list.

The Bats Got Going Early

The offense wasted no time getting going in this one, as Manny Machado led off the bottom of the second with a laser into the left-field pavilion. It was Machado’s 37th of the year, and his 13th with the Dodgers. Matt Kemp followed up with his 21st homerun of the year just two batters later. An early 2-0 lead for Los Angeles.

Things spiraled out of control from there for the Padres. Austin Barnes hit a two-run shot in the 4th to make it 4-0. And a flurry of hits throughout the rest of the game left the final score at 14-0. The boys in blue finished with 16 hits on the day, including six extra-base hits.

Relief Help

The bullpen was sharp in their three innings of work, specifically a young phenom. Josh Fields came on to take the 7th, but it was Julio Urias that stole the show. The kid tossed two scoreless innings and struck out four Padres. He even struck out the side when he entered for the 8th inning, getting Myers looking on a 97mph fastball. Urias certainly made a statement in this one, regardless of the score.

Moments That Mattered

Chase Utley got a nice standing ovation before the game and in his last at-bat. It was referenced as his final regular season home game, but it very well could have just been his last home game in general. The roster is tight as it is, and Utley will likely be left off of the playoff roster. Still, the amount of respect we all have for Chase will not be forgotten. He is truly a hero of this game that we all love.

Looking Ahead

The Dodgers start a huge series with Arizona this week after they were swept by Colorado over the weekend. The Rockies still sit just 1.5 games out of the west entering the final week of the regular season, and Arizona is out of the hunt. The Dbacks have lost 16 out of 21 this month, plummeting from a one-game lead to do start the month.