Padres salvage finale of series against Dodgers to end losing streak

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — Finally, Dodger Stadium was quiet.

Minutes before the first pitch, for four straight days, public address announcer Todd Leitz practically screamed: “Now taking the field, your back-to-back world champion Los Angeles Dodgers.”

Seconds after the final out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Randy Newman’s “I love L.A.” began playing over Dodger Stadium’s cranked-up speakers.

On Sunday, as afternoon turned to evening, the San Diego Padres’ soundtrack of misery was interrupted.

At the end of their weeklong road trip, they won.

After eight consecutive losses — including three in Chicago, where virtually everyone inside Wrigley Field sings “Go, Cubs, Go” After every victory by the home team, and then the three in L.A. — the Padres beat the Dodgers 5-2.

Thus ended their longest losing streak in 13 years.

They remain a game under .500 with seven games remaining before the All-Star break.

Much will be determined in that time — and in the week or so after the break — regarding their plans at the trade deadline.

But they got what they needed Sunday, including five strong innings from left-hander JP Sears at the start.

He departed with the Padres ahead 1-0 after they scored in the fourth inning on a walk by Manny Machado and a single by Gavin Sheets with one out and Xander Bogaerts’ two-out single.

Machado’s three-run homer punctuated a four-run eighth inning to put the Padres up 5-0.

At the end, after three other relievers limped through three innings, Mason Miller converted his first save opportunity in nearly two weeks.

All that followed a loud beginning to the game.

After Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan’s second pitch, which first base umpire Ben May ruled Fernando Tatis Jr. had swung on, several people in the Padres dugout voiced their displeasure, home plate umpire Nick Mahrley turned and yelled for them to stop.

After the next pitch, a swing Tatis checked, there were more jeers, and they did not stop when Mahrley again turned to the dugout and yelled. Mahrley quickly ejected infield coach Ryan Goins, which brought Craig Stammen from the dugout. He was ejected in relatively short order as well.

Bench coach Randy Knorr and pitching coach Ruben Niebla were left to navigate a game with a bullpen thinned by injuries and a heavy workload.

Sears allowed his first with two outs in the fifth inning, and even though he had thrown just 76 pitches and the Padres bullpen has been taxed by injuries and workload, that was it for Sears.

Left-hander Yuki Matsui was brought in for the bottom of the sixth.

He retired No.9 batter Eliezer Alfonzo on a fly ball before walking Shohei Ohtani on four pitches and Andy Pages on five. He got another out on a fly ball to center field by Freddie Freeman before a run of right-handers prompted bench coach Randy Knorr to walk from the dugout and motion for Bradgley Rodriguez.

The rookie right-hander ended the inning by getting Mookie Betts to hit a fly ball that was caught by Jackson Merrill in left-center field.

Rodriguez walked Teoscar Hernández to start the bottom of the seventh before striking out Alex Call.

The Dodgers sent left-handed Kyle Tucker to the plate as a pinch-hitter, and Knorr replaced Rodriguez with left-hander Adrian Morejón.

Singles by Tucker, Kyle Freeland and Shohei Ohtani got the Dodgers to 5-2.

Morejón got through the eighth to keep the ask of Miller to three outs, and he retired all three batters he faced to move into a tie for the National League lead with his 22nd save.

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