"Friday night is going to be insanity downtown" "First playoff home game in 16 years!" - San Diego Padres fans rejoice as team overcame the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road in Game 2 of NLDS

For the first time in the team's 53-year history, the San Diego Padres have defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a postseason game. The Friars overcame the Dodgers 5-3 on the road to tie up the National League Division Series after two games.

San Diego Padres fans couldn't contain their excitement about the win and the anticipation of a postseason home game at Petco Park for the first time in 16 years.

The two teams went back-and-forth on the offensive side of the ball, trading runs at every possible opportunity. Manny Machado opened the scoring when he homered off Clayton Kershaw in the first inning. Freddie Freeman pulled one back for the Dodgers half an inning later after homering off Yu Darvish to tie the score at 1-1.

The team continued exchanging runs before Jurickson Profar's RBI single in the sixth and Jake Cronenworth's solo blast in the eighth sealed the 5-3 scoreline for the Padres.

Yu Darvish was triumphant in his return to postseason ball at Dodger Stadium, earning the victory for the Padres. Robert Suarez was sensational in relief, giving up just two base hits to the Dodgers in his two-inning appearance. Josh Hader earned his first postseason save after getting the final four outs of the contest.

Game 3 will be on Friday, October 14 in San Diego as Petco Park hosts its first San Diego Padres postseason series in 16 years.

San Diego Padres' last postseason series at home

The last time the San Diego Padres hosted a playoff series at home, they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS 3-1. That year, the Padres were the kings of the National League West and had a better record than the Cards.

The Friars, having home-field advantage, dropped their first two games at home. Chris Carpenter produced a masterclass in Game 1, limiting the Padres to only one run. Jeff Weaver and the Cards bullpen continued their hot streak and shut down the Padres in Game 2 with a 2-0 score.

The Padres got one back at Busch Stadium after their Game 3 win but will surrender the series to the Cardinals in Game 4 after another masterclass by Carpenter. The Cardinals would go on to become World Series champions that season. As for the Padres, they won't make another postseason appearance until 2020.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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