With golden opportunity, clutch hit eludes LA: 'We didn't execute'

SAN DIEGO -- The Dodgers looked like they were ready for a knockout blow in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, nobody out and a two-run lead over the Padres in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Saturday at Petco Park.

Will Smith delivered a sacrifice fly to make it a three-run game, but the Dodgers again failed with runners in scoring position, unable to tack on any more runs.

It proved costly, as the Padres rallied for five runs in the bottom of the inning to shock their division rivals with a series-clinching 5-3 win in front of an electric crowd. The Dodgers went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the game and a combined 2-for-26 in those situations in the three consecutive losses that ended their season.

"It ended up costing us," said manager Dave Roberts. "There was an opportunity to tack on, and we couldn't do that, and you saw their guys kind of being able to get hits with guys in scoring position to kind of scratch and claw back into the game and tack on. We just couldn't do that."

After Smith’s sacrifice fly to left, the Padres brought in lefty Tim Hill to face the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy. The Dodgers surprised Hill by pulling off a double steal to put two runners in scoring position with one out. But Muncy couldn't put the ball in play, striking out on a 1-2 sinker, and Justin Turner grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

The Padres simply got big hits when they needed them, while the Dodgers failed to come through in key situations throughout the series. It’s a major reason why the 89-win Padres were able to take the series and advance to the NL Championship Series against the Phillies, while the 111-win Dodgers are headed home despite a historic showing in the regular season.

“You have to execute, and they did and we didn’t,” said right fielder Mookie Betts. “They came through. We had our chances, we just never got that hit.”

The Dodgers were limited to a combined seven runs in their three losses, including four total runs in their two games at Petco Park. They had plenty of traffic but were continually stymied, especially by San Diego's bullpen. Los Angeles scored just one run against Padres relievers in 16 innings in the four-game series.

First baseman Freddie Freeman, who connected on a two-run double off right-hander Joe Musgrove in the third to snap the club’s 0-for-20 skid with runners in scoring position, lamented that it was simply a bad time for the bats to go cold in big situations.

“I’m sure there was a three-game span during the course of the regular season when we didn’t do so well, either,” Freeman said. “It’s just unfortunate that it happened in October, and it’s unfortunate this is what happens when that happens.”

The struggles with runners in scoring position were even more stunning considering the Dodgers had the best average (.272) and OPS (.824) in the Majors in those situations during the regular season.

But the Dodgers did have trouble with the bases loaded during the regular season, hitting just .252 in those situations, which tied with the Nationals as the eighth-worst mark in the big leagues. And that situation reared its ugly head again in the seventh with only Smith able to plate a run despite having three runners on and nobody out.

Smith said he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly wasn’t working for the Dodgers in clutch situations throughout the series.

"Why? I have no idea," Smith said. "But it's something we were good at all year, but unfortunately, we didn't execute in the postseason when it matters."

If the Dodgers had pushed across a few more runs in the seventh, it could have been a much different story, and the series could be heading back to Dodger Stadium for a deciding Game 5. Instead, it was the Dodgers who saw their season come to a sudden end, as they reached their 10th straight postseason, but have only the 2020 World Series title to show for it.

“The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing,” Roberts said. “Things could have gone either way today to impact the result of the game. It didn't. We got beat in a series. Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously, we didn't expect to be in this position.”