All of the excitement of the San Diego Padres reaching the NLDS this season and facing the Los Angeles Dodgers came to a screeching halt on Friday night. A frustrating halt. Emotional halt. Choose your phrase.
Either way, it was not a fun way to end the season. The Padres were scoreless through the final 24 innings of their season. While the Padres made contact, they only had two hits and didn’t have a single hit the final four innings of Friday’s loss.
There’s a lot to point to as to what went wrong against the Dodgers for San Diego. And that’s what makes the loss hard to accept. But now the Padres’ eyes turn toward 2025 and the questions that need answers if they hope to return to the MLB playoffs next year.
Padres manager Mike Shildt had a look of disbelief in his face as he answered questions from reporters after the loss. Here’s everything he said after the Padres’ anti-climatic loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS.
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Padres stunned after scoreless drought in NLDS series against LA Dodgers
Shildt said "stunned" was the perfect way to describe the final 24 outs of the Padres season.
"I think "stunning" is appropriate... I've got to tip your hat ... Congratulations to the Dodgers,” Shildt said, per Annie Heilbrunn X platform account. “Hard fought, a lot of things going on in the season. Had them down. They were able to come back."
The Padres weren’t supposed to go out like they did. Not after they swept the Atlanta Braves to reach the NLDS series against the Dodgers. In the first three games of the series, the Padres were averaging seven runs per game. They didn’t score a run after the second inning of Game 3.
Friday night was a pitchers duel and the Dodgers got two timely hits to seal the win over the Padres. And that type of game resulted in a flurry of emotion.
"It's tough to sum up,” Shildt said, per Heilbrunn’s X platform account. “There's a lot of emotion taking place... Obviously a ton of disappointment in the end result. But nothing but absolute respect & admiration for our entire club. It's a club that from day one poured everything they had into this, every single guy."
It is a tough game to summarize. Honestly a tough series. Everything started well for the Padres, who grabbed back-to-back wins after losing Game 1. The Dodgers utilized their bullpen more and the Padres had no response.
Shildt didn’t mince his words after the loss. He was clearly emotional as he tried to think about the season on the spot. This one will sting for the Padres for a while. It could also be what motivates them to not falter again next season.