Dodgers 12, Padres 7: An uno reverse of a game as Dodgers score 12 unanswered runs to start the series right

Chad Moriyama 07/02/2026 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

After essentially forfeiting the final game of the series against the A’s, the Dodgers returned home with a rested pen. Unfortunately, Roki Sasaki continued to struggle and put that rested pen to the test. Fortunately, the bats made it not matter much at all as they stormed back with a string of 12 unanswered runs to start the four-game series against the Padres with an 12-7 victory.

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A month ago, it looked like Roki Sasaki had turned the corner. Even two starts ago, the results were going backward but the execution looked fine. Yet after back-to-back starts against the Padres, he’s looked as broken as he was in April.

Roki’s first two pitches were a double and a wild pitch, then Manny Machado put the Padres on top with a homer to make it 2-0 just like that.

Jackson Merrill then led off the 2nd inning with a homer and a double followed that, but Roki got a pair of outs to put him on the verge of escape. However, he then issued a four-pitch walk, allowed a stolen base, and Jake Cronenworth hit a three-run homer to right to make it 6-0 Padres.

A walk and a double followed that, and Roki was barely able to get through the 2nd. While he got a scoreless 3rd, he gave up a two-out double and continued to look suspect.

Just not good enough, and he needs to get it together cause there’s no help coming from AAA anymore: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 88 Pitches.

Thing is … uh, the lineup made it not matter.

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The bats managed to make things interesting against Randy Vasquez at least. After stranding a lead-off and one-out single in the 1st, Kyle Tucker led the 2nd off with a single and Dalton Rushing smoked a one-out homer for his 10th of the year to make it 6-2 Padres.

They rallied again in the 3rd, as a one-out single from Mookie Betts was followed by a double from Max Muncy that scored him, and then Tucker singled him home to make it 6-4 Padres.

The Padres turned to Wandy Peralta in the 4th and he didn’t do any better, starting by giving up back-to-back singles to Dalton Rushing and Tommy Edman, and then Andy Pages smoked a one-out double to plate them both and tie the game at 6-6.

With two down, Mookie Betts doubled to score Pages, and Max Muncy followed with a single to score Mookie and it was 8-6 Dodgers just like that.

Peralta barely got out of the 4th, so the Padres went to Yuki Matsui in the 5th, and he also struggled. Rushing started that inning with a double and Tommy also doubled to score Rushing. He then stole third without a throw and scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-6 Dodgers.

With Matsui barely getting through the 5th himself, it was former starter German Marquez in the 6th. Tucker greeted him with a lead-off double, got moved to third on a flyout, and Rushing drove him in with a sac fly to push the lead to 11-6.

After a clean 7th, Marquez walked Tucker with one down in the 8th, which made it nine in a row for him.

Kyle Tucker has reached in nine consecutive plate appearances. Five walks, four singles, and a double.

— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) 2026-07-03T05:00:28.521Z

A Teoscar Hernandez walk followed and Dalton continued his night with his fourth hit for a single to make it 12-6.

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Oh right, there was the Padres … sorta.

Taking over for Roki in the 4th was Will Klein, who cruised through an 11-pitch inning, and then he gave up just a single in a scoreless 5th.

Brock Stewart followed him in the 6th, giving up a one-out single but facing the minimum thanks to a double play. Alex Vesia then entered for the 7th, issuing a two-out walk but nothing else.

The 8th belonged to Edgardo Henriquez, who continued to look absolutely nasty, topping out at 103 MPH and dropping nasty breaking stuff while filling the zone in a clean frame.

Paul Gervase started shakily with a walk, but rebounded with a strikeout and then got help from Pages in center on a ridiculous catch to save my recap.

He then issued another walk to put a pair on and Dave Roberts went to Tanner Scott for some reason. I guess he was already warm just in case, so he put him in? Anyway, he made me rewrite parts of my recap by giving up a single to Miguel Andujar that made it 12-7, but then ended the game.

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57-31 on the year, as the Dodgers remain hot of late (again).

The series continues tomorrow at the same time of 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET with the marquee matchup of Shohei Ohtani against Michael King.

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