Pollock plays hero again in 16-inning epic

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

 

Article by Juan Toribio, MLB.com

 

SAN DIEGO -- The Dodgers and Padres have produced some of the most memorable games of the 2021 season. Wednesday night’s 5-3 Dodgers win at Petco Park topped them all, jam-packing every situation into a 16-inning, five-hour rollercoaster.

 

The game featured just about everything. Walker Buehler and Blake Snell were locked in a classic pitchers' duel, each starter giving their respective team everything it needed through seven innings. The last nine innings of the game were much wackier.

 

It was a game that neither team wanted to lose but didn’t do enough to win. In the end, the Dodgers were able to withstand an incredibly subpar 5-for-27 performance with runners in scoring position to beat the Padres. It wasn’t until Billy McKinney, the second-to-last position player on the bench, came through with a huge RBI single in the 15th inning against left-hander Daniel Camarena to finally break the scoreless drought in extras.

 

But with the Dodgers taking a two-run lead into the bottom half of the 15th, the Padres had an answer. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a clutch two-run homer off Corey Knebel to tie the game. It was Tatis’ first hit of the night and San Diego’s first hit since the bottom of the 5th. The Padres went nearly four hours without a hit against the Dodgers, yet Los Angeles couldn’t put them away.

 

Then in the 16th, AJ Pollock finally delivered the dagger, smacking a leadoff two-run homer off Camarena to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead. In the bottom half, Shane Greene, who was the last pitcher available for the Dodgers, recorded the save.