Dodgers-Padres series ends with benches clearing, managers ejected

LOS ANGELES — Nope, they don’t like each other.

That much was fairly evident even before the ninth inning of Thursday night’s 5-3 victory for the San Diego Padres over the Dodgers.

But it took all the way to the final inning of their 10-game stretch against NL West rivals for emotions that had bubbled just below the surface during the seven meetings between the Dodgers and Padres to finally boil over.

The Dodgers had all but ceded a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday night. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pinch-hit for Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the eighth inning, essentially raising the white flag.

In the top of the ninth, though, rookie right-hander Jack Little (pitching a second inning in his major-league debut) hit Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch. It was the third time Tatis was hit in the seven games between the Dodgers and Padres over this 10-game stretch and Padres manager Mike Shildt came charging out of the dugout, gesturing toward the Dodgers’ dugout.

Roberts responded in kind, meeting Shildt at home plate as both dugouts emptied. Both managers were ejected, Roberts for the second time in this four-game series.

“First of all I’ll say this, I have a lot of respect for that team. Whether it’s mutual or not, I’d like to think it is,” Shildt said. “The fact of the matter is it’s a good rivalry. It’s a good, hard-fought baseball rivalry. I don’t want it to get to a point where it got to and accelerated to tonight.”

Eight batters were hit by pitches in the four-game series at Dodger Stadium, another three during the three games in San Diego last week. Tatis and Shohei Ohtani were hit in the same inning twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday).

“I think anyone would understand there’s no intent there. And even by my reaction, I didn’t feel good about Tatis –– great player, good guy –– getting hit. I didn’t feel good about it,” Roberts said.

“And so as he (Shildt) comes out, and he’s yelling at me and staring me down, that bothers me. Because, to be quite frank, that’s the last thing I wanted. I’m taking starters out of the game, trying to get this game over with and get this kid a couple innings. And so that’s why I felt, I took that personal. Because I understand the game, and I understand that it doesn’t feel good to get hit. But understand again, intent versus clearly no intent.”

Initial X-rays on Tatis’ right wrist were negative but he is scheduled to have an MRI and CT scan on Friday.

“Let’s just hope his CT scan comes back negative. They (the Dodgers) gotta pray for it to come back negative tomorrow,” Manny Machado said in the Padres’ post-game clubhouse.

“They need to set a little candle up for Tati tomorrow. Hopefully it comes back negative. That’s not a good spot to get hit. I don’t care who it is, I don’t care who’s on the mound.”

The Dodgers avoided being shut out with three runs in the bottom of the ninth – but Ohtani couldn’t avoid getting hit by a pitch from Padres closer Robert Suarez. It was the second time in this series that Ohtani and Tatis were each hit by pitches in the same inning. Both Suarez and Padres bench coach Brian Esposito (who took over for Shildt) were ejected.

If the Padres thought the Dodgers targeted Tatis, Roberts again said Ohtani was “absolutely” hit intentionally — as he said Tuesday night when Ohtani was drilled by Padres starter Randy Vasquez.

“I mean, it’s 3-and-0,” Roberts said. “This is a right-handed pitcher going cross-court to hit Shohei up and in. That’s a hard throw. And I don’t know how many left-handed hitters Suarez has hit with the fastball. But clearly there was intent behind it.”

And with that, the Dodgers reached the end of a 10-game gauntlet against their closest pursuers in the National League West, the Padres and San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers had gone more than 60 games into the season without playing either team and led the Padres and Giants each by a game when they entered this stretch. Despite Thursday’s loss, the Dodgers won seven of the 10 games and emerged with a 3½-game lead over the second-place Giants, five games over the Padres.

“When you play against the Padres, the Giants. It all goes so fast, I don’t even remember all the teams we’ve played here recently,” Betts said, stretching it out to include recent series against the Mets and Yankees as well.  “But you’re playing against the people that know you the most. It’s fun and it’s good baseball.

“It gets emotional sometimes.”

The didn’t dominate their opponents during the 10 games, outscoring the Padres and Giants just 53-51 while batting a modest.250 as a team.

But they were clutch. Three of the seven wins were one-run decisions and they hit .304 (24 for 79) with runners in scoring position.

The offense never got going Thursday night. Rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert (making just his fourth major-league start) retired 14 of the first 16 Dodgers batters, allowing a pair of singles in the third inning then a walk and a single in the fifth.

Betts grounded out with runners at the corners in the third. Ohtani hit a dribbler back to reliever Adrian Morejon, who took over for Bergert with the same in the fifth.

An unproductive offense has been the biggest drag on the Padres’ attempts to challenge the Dodgers in the division over the past month. But they landed enough blows against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday. Xander Bogaerts did most of the damage with four hits including a solo home run and three runs scored.

Little entered in the eighth inning and gave up two runs on four hits, including Bogaerts’ fourth of the night.

Padres reliever Sean Reynolds walked the first two batters in the ninth, sparking a Dodgers rally that died after Ohtani was hit – and Betts, Smith and Freeman were no longer in the lineup. Miguel Rojas walked to put the tying runs on base but Dalton Rushing struck out to end the game.

“I think that, for me, we’re using a guy that makes his major league debut, and they were one hit away from making it 7-0 (with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth),” Roberts said. “We’re at a stretch here of a lot of games, and I felt that that was the right time.

“You just don’t know how the game is going to play out.”

The Dodgers and Padres do not meet again until August 15 — when they will play six times in 10 days.

“I mean it’s a battle for the division, right? That’s what it’s all about,” Machado said. “We wanna win the division, and we obviously know who we gotta go through.

“We know where we’re at now. It’s gonna be a fun ride. This division’s freaking awesome, and it’s gonna be a fun ride going down the road. The Giants got better with (the trade for Rafael Devers, and we know what these guys have on the other side and what we have on this side. And obviously you can’t count out Arizona. They’ve got a really good team over there. They’re gonna be battling.

“It’s a four-headed monster battling it out, so it’ll be an interesting second half.”