After 16 innings, the Dodgers picked up the win over the Padres in a game that started at 10:10 ET on Wednesday night. 16 innings was good for the longest game since teams began starting the 10th with a runner on second, which was instituted during the abbreviated 2019 season. The previous record was 13 innings, which had been done four times.
Runs were scarce in the game with each team deploying front-line pitchers. The Padres tapped Blake Snell while the Dodgers deployed Cy Young candidate Walker Buehler. It’s been a down year for Snell, who began the day with an ERA of 4.82. He was stellar on the night, however, allowing just one run while striking out ten through seven and 2/3 innings pitched. Buehler went 6 and 2/3 allowing just one run himself, this one unearned.
As the game headed to extra innings, the score was all knotted up at one. Both teams deployed their closers in the ninth and emptied the bullpen as the night dragged on. The Dodgers ultimately used nine relievers while the Padres used eight.
Innings, ten through 14 saw zero runs despite several chances. Finally, in inning 15, the Dodgers were able to plate two runs off singles by Billey McKinney and Trea Turner. The Padres weren’t done, however. They ultimately leveled the score in the bottom half of the 15th courtesy of a two-run home run from Fernando Tatis Jr.
The marathon game finally came to a close in the next inning after the Dodgers evened the score on a two-run blast of their own. Daniel Camarena surrendered the centerfield home run to AJ Pollock, who collected his first hit in seven at-bats on the night.
Shane Greene was then tapped by the Dodgers to close the game out in the bottom of the 16th. Greene was an All Star closer in 2019 and picked up 32 saves in the previous campaign. He came into this game having allowed eighteen runs in 17 and a third innings pitched between the Dodgers and the Braves in 2021, however. Thankfully for LA, Greene looked like his old self and cruised to an easy save, striking out two in the process. It was the first save for Shane Greene since 2019.
The win kept the Dodgers two and a half back from the Giants, who have the best record in baseball at 82-44. LA will be looking to complete the sweep in game three against the Padres later tonight.