5 Dodgers to blame for embarrassing NLDS Game 2 loss to Padres

It might not have been pretty, but the Los Angeles Dodgers found a way to win the opener of their highly-anticipated NLDS matchup against the San Diego Padres by a final score of 7-5. Shohei Ohtani hit a massive three-run homer, and despite the Dodgers only getting three innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, their bullpen didn't allow a run in their six innings of work.

Game 2 was not the same story at all for the Dodgers. The tone was set immediately, as the Padres scored a run before Los Angeles came up to bat, and in the bottom of the first, Jurickson Profar robbed Mookie Betts of a home run.

San Diego never looked back and won this game 10-2. To make matters worse, the Dodgers lost Freddie Freeman midway through the game due to ankle soreness.

The series is now tied at one game apiece with the series shifting back to San Diego. The Dodgers had a chance to protect their home field and position themselves to be one win away from an NLCS appearance, but failed to do so. Now, they're going to have to win at least one of the two games in San Diego to have an opportunity to move on.

Virtually the entire team is worthy of blame in such a blowout loss, but these five players stick out in particular.

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5 Dodgers to blame after embarrassing NLDS Game 2 loss to Padres

5) Ryan Brasier put a somewhat close game completely out of reach

This Dodgers team is capable of scoring runs in bunches, especially when the top of their order is due up. We saw them score three runs in two different innings in Game 1 of this series, so watching them put together a similar rally wouldn't be overly shocking.

Ryan Brasier entered Game 2 with the game still within reach. The Dodgers trailed 4-1 after seven innings, meaning that the odds clearly were not on their side, but the game also was not over, especially with Ohtani due up third in the inning and Betts due up behind him.

The right-hander recorded the first two outs of the inning, but surrendered a Manny Machado single and a Jackson Merrill two-run homer. Suddenly, a three-run game turned into a five-run game. That's a difference between there being a save situation and no save situation.

From there, an already improbable comeback became that much harder. He doesn't deserve as much blame as others, but Brasier's rough outing essentially put the game out of reach.

4) Tommy Edman killed the Dodgers' best chance at a rally

With the team trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the second, the middle of the Dodgers order began a rally. Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy hit back-to-back singles and Will Smith drew a walk, loading the bases with nobody out. If they weren't going to tie the game or take the lead, the Dodgers at the very least had a golden opportunity to get multiple runs across. That did not happen.

Gavin Lux drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, but that's all that the Dodgers would get. Tommy Edman hit a ball hard but it was right at Padres first baseman Luis Arraez who caught it and stepped on the bag for an unlucky inning-ending double play. Had that ball gone down the right field line the game would've likely been tied, but instead, the Dodgers had to settle for just that one run.

Edman did hit an infield single later in the game, but that was when the Padres were up 7-1 in the bottom of the eighth. His inability to come through in that big spot or at least extend the inning further to get Ohtani a possible trip to the plate was unfortunate to see.

3) Mookie Betts came up small once again for the Dodgers

Mookie Betts is considered one of the best players in the game for a reason. He's as much of a five-tool player as anyone, and his numbers back that up. His recent performance in the postseason, though, has been extremely un-Betts-like.

In the 2023 NLDS, Betts went 0-for-11 in a series that saw the Dodgers get swept. In Game 1 of this series, the Dodgers won, but Betts went 0-for-2. He did draw three walks, but two of them were intentional, and this Dodgers team needs him to hit. In Game 2, he went 0-for-4. Sure, he did get robbed of the home run by Profar, but the end result was an F7.

Unfortunately, postseason struggles have been part of the recent norm for Mookie, and that's part of why they've failed to do any damage in October. The simple fact is that this team needs Mookie to be Mookie to survive, especially if Freddie Freeman has to miss time. He has not been close to Mookie. Hopefully, he can find a way to get something going in Game 3.

2) Shohei Ohtani followed up his monster postseason debut with a dud

Finally, Shohei Ohtani got to play in a postseason game. His debut in October did not disappoint, His first postseason hit was an extremely memorable one. He launched a game-tying three-run home run and had an awesome bat chuck to boot. Not only did he just absolutely launch that home run off of one of the best pitchers in the National League, but he tied the game with that one swing. Los Angeles got into an early 3-0 hole before they even got to swing the bat in Game 1, and by the second inning, they tied it, thanks to Shohei's heroics.

He had two hits in his five at-bats including that three-run shot in the Dodgers' Game 1 victory. Game 2, however, was not the same for Ohtani.

The MVP favorite in the National League went hitless in four at-bats on the night including a pair of strikeouts. He faced a tough challenge against Yu Darvish, a pitcher that the entire Dodgers team had trouble solving, but it's going to be really hard for the Dodgers to win games in which their best player fails to do anything. Not a hit, not a walk, not even a hit-by-pitch.

What makes Ohtani's frustrating game worse is that he either hit first or second in an inning all four times he stepped up to the plate. Had he gone on base, perhaps he could've gotten a rally or two started. Instead, the Dodgers looked feeble offensively most of the night, with Ohtani front and center.

1) Jack Flaherty was far from stellar in his start

The Dodgers acquired Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline to step up in games like this. Their need for Flaherty to step up increased when it was revealed that guys like Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow would not be pitching in October. Their need for Flaherty to step up increased even further after Yamamoto only went three innings, forcing five different Dodgers relievers to pitch. Two of those relievers wound up recording five outs.

Unfortunately, Flaherty failed to deliver. Four runs in 5.1 innings of work isn't a horrible night on the surface. He gave them decent length against a really good Padres lineup, and did a decent job limiting the damage. Still, with the way Darvish was throwing the ball on the other side, the Dodgers needed more from Flaherty than what they got.

Several of their high-leverage options were likely unavailable for this game, so the Dodgers needed more length than what they got from Flaherty. Part of why San Diego was able to break the game open late had to do with the fact that they got to face lower-leverage arms.

With how shorthanded this rotation is, Flaherty, the de facto ace of the staff right now with all of the injuries, has to pitch better than this for the Dodgers to win in October. It's just that simple.