SAN DIEGO -- After a second consecutive early exit in October, the Dodgers spent all winter trying to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. Led by Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers spent over $1 billion in contracts in the offseason, putting together one of the best rosters in the sport.

The Dodgers’ craving to play deeper in the postseason was palpable from the moment they opened Spring Training in early February. That carried over all throughout the summer. They finished the regular season with the best record in the Major Leagues.

But despite all of their efforts, the Dodgers find themselves in a familiar spot, one they desperately hoped to avoid. Following a 6-5 loss to the Padres in Game 3 of the best-of-five National League Division Series on Tuesday at Petco Park, the Dodgers are now one loss away from being eliminated in the NLDS for the third consecutive season.

“I think it’s the same approach we’ve had from the first game,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “Every game you try to treat as the end of the season, because you just never know in the playoffs.”

Over the previous 48 hours, the tensions between the two Southern California rivals escalated. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was in the center of the discourse, calling Padres third baseman Manny Machado “disrespectful” after a ball was tossed toward L.A.'s dugout during Game 2 on Sunday night.

Most of the talk pregame was about keeping the emotions in check. Both clubs, however, maintained that none of that would matter when they took the field. And in the end, the Dodgers fell just short largely due to a disastrous bottom of the second inning.

After Mookie Betts hit a solo homer in the top of the first inning -- his first postseason hit since Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS -- the Dodgers finally were able to take an early lead. It was the first time in the series that L.A. was able to land the first punch.

But that lead was short-lived. A combination of inefficiency from starter Walker Buehler, bad defense behind him and some tough luck helped San Diego erupt for six runs, sending a sold-out Petco Park into a frenzy.

“You can't give up six runs in an inning of the playoffs and expect to win,” said Buehler, who was dealt the loss. “So there's some things that I have some pride about in that game. But at the end of the day, I put us in a really bad spot, and we fought back, but the spot was too big.”

The first key play was when Freeman was attempting to make a throw to second base to get Machado, who was the lead runner. Machado, however, took a couple steps into the infield grass to try and disrupt Freeman’s throw. It ended up working out for San Diego, as Freeman’s throw hit Machado and rolled into left field, giving the Padres runners at the corners with nobody out.

Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas said he thought it should have been an out awarded to the Dodgers. Freeman, on the other hand, said the Dodgers are taught to do the same thing in Spring Training. Catcher Will Smith added that it’s something the club did throughout the season.

“You can't appeal it,” Roberts said. “And the thing is, from my vantage point, it's not a replayable challenge play. Manny, you can create your own basepath if you're not avoiding a tag. And it was a heady play.”

“We've been practicing that all Spring Training,” Machado added. “Finally, it came up in a big situation there. We're able to create our own lane. ... Ground ball to Freddie, I'm just trying to make a tough throw for him to second base.”

After that play, it all started to snowball for Los Angeles. Rojas made an uncharacteristic mistake later in the inning as he tried to turn a double play against Xander Bogaerts. Instead, Jackson Merrill beat Rojas to the bag at second and Bogaerts beat the throw at first. The Dodgers should have gotten at least one out on the play. They got none.

“I felt like the best way for us to get two outs there was that,” Rojas said. “But at the end of the day, you rethink about it and revisit the play, and all we needed was one out. I didn’t know that the whole thing was going to happen after that obviously, but getting one out there probably was the best option and I made a bad decision.”

Fernando Tatis Jr. followed all the mayhem by capping the frame with a two-run upper-deck shot off Buehler, which proved to be the decider.

In the third, Teoscar Hernández was able to bring the Dodgers right back into the game, smacking a grand slam off right-hander Michael King. The blast cut the deficit to one, and there was a feeling that Los Angeles might just have some life to steal a game on the road. Instead, the Dodgers finished the game going 1-for-21.

“We jumped on them first,” said Smith. “They hit back. We hit back, just not hard enough.”

Now that they’re facing elimination, the Dodgers will need to play their best game of the season on Wednesday. They’ll have to do it against right-hander Dylan Cease, who is starting on short rest after a shaky Game 1 performance. On the other hand, the Dodgers will have to map out 27 outs with a bullpen game.

Finding a way to get big wins is something the Dodgers excelled at for most of the 2024 season. If they want to avoid a third consecutive major October disappointment, they’ll have to do it when it matters most.

“Overall, I really do feel this team really wants to win. That’s the feeling I get,” said Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani through interpreter Will Ireton. “Tomorrow, I’m going to go out there and do my best.”