Just when you thought the San Diego Padres were ready to close the door on their arch-rivals and advance on to the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled a Lee Corso and shouted, “not so fast my friend!”
The Dodgers came alive in a big way in Game 4 of the NLDS last night as they knocked around the Padres and came away with a convincing 8-0 victory.
The series now heads back to Los Angeles for tomorrow’ night’s do-or-die Game 5.
The heated series between the in-state rivals has been extremely dramatic and contentious. (Just how playoff baseball should be.)
Adding to all the drama was the revelation that longtime MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal has been banned from the Padres dugout.
According to reports, some Padres players were very upset at comments made by Rosenthal, who works for both FOX and The Athletic.
The San Diego Union-Tribune confirmed that Rosenthal was indeed barred from entering the Padres dugout at Petco Park. The ban appears to be a direct response to a critical article Rosenthal wrote earlier in the week.
In his column, Rosenthal weighed in on an incident involving San Diego third baseman Manny Machado, who was accused of intentionally throwing a baseball into the Dodgers dugout, allegedly targeting Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts.
Machado denied any malicious intent, explaining that he routinely tosses baseballs into opposing dugouts after warmups. However, Rosenthal’s article didn’t pull punches, criticizing Machado and his teammates Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar.
Rosenthal described Machado’s reaction to Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty throwing at Tatis as “punkish,” and labeled Tatis Jr. a “peacock.” He also took a swipe at Profar, likening him to “the kid who pulls the fire alarm at school and then asks, ‘Who, me?'”
The Padres clearly took offense to Rosenthal’s sharp commentary. The Union-Tribune report suggests the team not only banned him from their dugout, but also refused to conduct the customary in-game interviews with him.
It should be noted that it was a “one-game ban” for Game 3 and that things are back to normal (for the most part) … We’ll see how the situation progresses as the series heads back to LA.
Speaking of which, what is your prediction for the decisive Game 5???