LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the San Diego Padres 7-0 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, using an eight-pitcher bullpen game and a fastball-flashing return from Roki Sasaki to extend their home winning streak to 11 games and move within a single win of Major League Baseball's best record.
The Dodgers improved to 97-60, pulling within one game of the Milwaukee Brewers (98-59) for the top mark in baseball, with a magic number of just one to clinch a first-round bye into the National League Division Series. Los Angeles has won 15 of its last 20 games in September, turning what had been a crowded playoff picture into a two-team race for the best record in the sport. Full play-by-play and the box score are available from ESPN.
Freddie Freeman drove in three runs on two singles, and Tommy Edman and Will Smith each added a solo home run. Edman finished 1 for 3 with two runs scored, and Mookie Betts contributed a run-scoring double. San Diego starter Michael King, now 12-10, was tagged for five runs on six hits over four innings, unable to survive a two-out Dodgers rally that put the game out of reach early and dropped the Padres to their second loss in 15 games.
Sasaki flashes 100 mph in bullpen debut
The night's headline moment belonged to Sasaki, activated off the injured list earlier Tuesday after nearly a month sidelined by a blister on his right middle finger. Working the fourth inning, the 24-year-old right-hander struck out two and touched 100 mph on his fastball — one of eight Los Angeles pitchers used, also including Brock Stewart, winning pitcher Justin Wrobleski, Blake Treinen, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer in a planned bullpen game that held San Diego scoreless. It was the Dodgers' 13th shutout of the season and the second time this year they have used at least eight pitchers to complete one, a bullpen-management approach manager Dave Roberts has leaned on repeatedly down the stretch.
Sasaki is not returning to the rotation. Roberts said a day before the appearance that the right-hander will work exclusively in relief for the rest of the season, a shift built around his standout relief work in last year's postseason rather than a return to starting.
"I can see multiples, but it's not going to be bulk as in four or five innings. It won't be that."
— Dave Roberts, Dodgers manager, on Roki Sasaki's bullpen role
Roberts pointed to Sasaki's 2025 postseason relief numbers — a 0.84 ERA with three saves in nine appearances — as evidence the role fits, describing him as capable of pitching in high-leverage innings even if not immediately as a closer. The move follows a broader pattern for Los Angeles, which has repeatedly reshaped its pitching staff on the fly during a stretch run that included Andy Pages also being activated from the injured list ahead of the series.
Padres' push stalls
The loss halted a hot stretch for San Diego, which had lost just once in its previous 14 games entering the night. The Padres managed only six hits, two of them from catcher Luis Campusano, and stranded runners in scoring position for most of the evening against a Los Angeles bullpen that finished with 10 strikeouts. The result left San Diego's own postseason positioning unresolved, with the club still working to lock down a National League wild-card berth in a tightly packed field.
The Dodgers, already crowned NL West champions, are playing their final home series of the regular season and host San Diego again Wednesday before closing the schedule on the road. A win in that game — or a loss by Atlanta — would clinch the bye, sending Los Angeles directly into the Division Series without a Wild Card Series detour. For Sasaki, Tuesday's outing was the first step in an audition for high-leverage October work.
