Padres lose to Dodgers, lose ground in NL West race

LOS ANGELES — The Padres have already secured their place in the postseason. When they get there, they might have to do it the hard way.

With a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, San Diego ceded control of its own destiny in the National League West race. It now trails Los Angeles by three games, with just four to play.

“We’ll just keep coming,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. “We’ve still got a shot. … We’re definitely going to bring that same energy tomorrow.”

Indeed, the Padres have a shot. But Wednesday’s loss put a serious dent in their chances to capture a first division title in 18 years. Thursday’s series finale is suddenly a must-win on that front.

If they lose, the Padres will be headed for a three-game Wild Card Series beginning next Tuesday. Even if they win, they’d need help this weekend. San Diego has locked up the head-to-head tiebreaker over L.A., but would need to gain two additional games this weekend. (The Padres finish their season with three in Arizona, while the Dodgers play three in Colorado.)

“We’re looking to win each one,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “That’s what we’ve done since Day 1. We’ll continue to do it. We’re playing for the division. It’s a little bit out of our hands as far as our destiny goes. But we still have a shot at it, for sure. Show up ready to go tomorrow.”

Padres right-hander Dylan Cease had to battle on Wednesday — as most starters do against this Dodgers lineup. Without his best stuff, he still held Los Angeles to three runs over five innings.

“I would’ve liked to execute more consistently,” Cease said. “But sometimes you have games like that and you’ve just got to battle.”

Cease’s next start will come in the postseason. It might even be Game 1. The Padres will be hoping they get the dominant version of Cease — the version that hadn’t allowed a run in his previous two starts.

But this kind of outing — in which he limited the damage against an excellent lineup — works, too.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” Shildt said. “He was able to get through that fifth inning and keep us right there.”

Cease exited with the game tied at 3 after Tatis’ moonshot in the top of the fifth inning off Jack Flaherty. It wasn’t quite his September 2021 blast, which left the ballpark entirely. But Tatis became the first visiting player to hit multiple Statcast-tracked home runs of at least 445 feet at Dodger Stadium.

Flaherty left a belt-high fastball over the middle of the plate, and Tatis made absolutely no mistake. He launched it deep into the left-field pavilion, 448 feet at 114.4 mph off the bat. It marked Tatis’ seventh home run in his last 13 games.

“Him being able to take the swings he’s taken — he just looks good,” Shildt said. “… This guy doesn’t have to do a lot to generate power. That was just a nice short, sweet swing, and that ball was crushed.”

Like Cease, Flaherty surrendered three runs over five innings, before the game became a battle of two excellent bullpens.

Padres righty Jeremiah Estrada walked two straight to open the sixth, before Shohei Ohtani’s single off lefty Adrian Morejon, which proved decisive. On the whole, San Diego pitchers were done in by an uncharacteristic six walks.

“The walks were a little abnormal for us,” Shildt said. “We’ve been throwing a lot of strikes, been a big part of our success.”

The Padres had chances late. In the ninth, Jake Cronenworth worked a two-out walk against Dodgers closer Michael Kopech, before Brandon Lockridge pinch-ran and swiped second. (With everyone in the stadium fully aware he’d be going, too. Lockridge, a newly promoted rookie, continues to make a case for a spot on the postseason roster.)

But Donovan Solano followed with a strikeout to end the game. A night after the Padres made baseball history by clinching their postseason spot with a triple play, they were left to face the prospect of a best-of-three Wild Card Series next week, in which two losses might send them home.

“I love where our team’s come from,” Shildt said. “I love where our team’s at. And I love where our team’s going. It’s a special team, and we’ll be ready to show up tomorrow, get [the deficit] back to two games.”