Padres take Game 2 over Dodgers behind Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth homers

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Clutch pitching and timely hitting came by the way of the San Diego Padres, who tied their NLDS series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at one a piece with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday night. 

The long ball was a theme in this game early on, but the Padres benefited from it the most in the end. It was none other than their team – and potential National League – MVP Manny Machado quickly getting them on the board with a line shot just inside the left field foul pole off Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw to make it 1-0. 

Later in the game, after a couple Dodgers threats to retake the lead, Jake Cronenworth smashed a majestic shot off Blake Treinen to right field to put the Padres up 5-3, giving them the right amount of cushion.  

Jake Cronenworth #9 celebrates his home run with Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning in game two of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)

But before that, it was a back-and-forth game between these NL West rivals. Freddie Freeman hit his first postseason home run as a Dodger right after Machado, as the expected pitcher duel between Kershaw and Yu Darvish didn’t really pan out the way some may have thought. That made it a 1-1 game in the bottom of the first. 

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Then, it was Max Muncy taking Darvish deep to right center field to give the Dodgers the lead. 

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Another run would come off the bat of Machado in the top of the third inning, followed by Cronenworth’s first