The Padres’ replica rally geese lay titled on their side in the visitors’ clubhouse The metaphorical goose may not be cooked just yet, but things are looking bleak for San Diego, writes emmabaccellieri
) That was the style of play that put them in the NLCS. And what happened in Game 4 on Saturday felt like a complete inversion of that principle for San Diego.
This one felt off the rails from the start. Neither starter made it out of the first inning. No pitcher faced more than nine batters. There was a weird, memorable bounce of a ball off second base, and no lead ever felt safe. But while Philadelphia found a way to lean into this frenzy—simply adding one home run after another—San Diego did not.
starter Bailey Falter in the top of the first, beginning with a home run from third baseman Manny Machado, which helped build a 4–0 first-inning lead.Falter, at least, had been able to record two outs before getting pulled. Padres starter Mike Clevinger could not retire a single batter—giving up a home run to Rhys Hoskins and an RBI double to Bryce Harper.
As bad as that was, however, it did not necessarily have to be damning. Except San Diego couldn’t stop the Phillies from scoring. Philadelphia tied it at four in the fourth on Bryson Stott’s RBI single. After the Padres jumped right back ahead with a Juan Soto two-run shot in the fifth, the bottom of the inning saw them lose the lead again—with another home run from Hoskins—and still more home runs followed in the sixth and seventh . The Phillies’ bullpen locked it down.