The Los Angeles Dodgers kick off their final homestand of 2026 with a win against the San Diego Padres.
The Los Angeles Dodgers opened up their final home series of the 2026 season with a bang as they came away with a 7-0 series-opening victory on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.
Along with the win, Los Angeles is now just a game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League following their 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers went with a bullpen game for the win, utilizing eight pitchers. They neutralized the Padres offensively, shutting them out and allowing just five hits.
Among the bunch was Roki Sasaki, who made his return to the mound after being activated off the Injured List earlier in the day with a blister on his middle finger.
Roki Sasaki pitches two innings for Dodgers
In the pregame, skipper Dave Roberts said that Sasaki would potentially pitch two innings, but only if he had a smooth first frame of work. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, he was only given one inning of work.
Out of the gates, he came out guns a-blazing, throwing his first pitch at 99.7 mph. Overall, he made the most of his outing, striking out two while giving up two hits in a scoreless fourth inning.
Edwin Díaz followed him up in the fifth with a scoreless frame of his own against the Padres' top half of the lineup. It was a much-needed test for a Dodgers arm that knows the importance of this final stretch of games.
Since coming off the IL, Díaz has recorded three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit while striking out six.
Offensively, the same names filled the scoresheet across the board.
Tommy Edman earned a free pass with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second after San Diego starter Michael King began to lose his command on the mound. Mookie Betts followed that up with a walk of his own, and Freddie Freeman capped off the inning with a two-run single for a four-run frame.
Freeman struck again in the fourth with another RBI single, and Edman launched a solo shot in the sixth to give the Dodgers a steep 6-0 lead.
Will Smith, the Dodgers' Roberto Clemente Award nominee, crushed his 10th home run of the season deep to left field in the seventh inning.
With the win, the Dodgers improve to 97-60 on the season and have won their last 11 straight home games at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium. Yoshinobu Yamamoto toes the rubber for Los Angeles on Wednesday as the Dodgers look to win their final home series of the season.
