A bases-loaded walk grants the Dodgers a 7-6 victory

It was an emotional and long back-and-forth game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, but in the end, the Dodgers prevailed, 7-6.

(Yes, it’s a May game that essentially means nothing, but baseball is dramatic sometimes.)

The deciding run came in the top half of the ninth inning, with Alex Verdugo facing Kirby Yates in a high-pressure situation. The bases were loaded with two outs and Verdugo, 3-for-4 with an RBI, patiently drew a five-pitch walk to force the winning run to score.

Kenley Jansen shut the door on the Padres to record his 12th save of the season. Jansen allowed a walk, but struck out Greg Garcia to end the game.

The sixth inning was the equalizer in Saturday’s contest, with the inning ending in a 6-6 tie. But it saw enough action and drama to fill an entire game.

The Dodgers were down by a score of 3-1 to enter the 6th, but things quickly changed. Max Muncy came to the plate with two runners on and cleared the bases with a shot to right field, lifting the Dodgers to a one-run lead.

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Alex Verdugo notched a one-out double and Chris Taylor singled to set up the runners on the corner for Matt Beaty. Beaty took advantage of the situation by hitting a base hit to drive in Verdugo for his first major league RBI. Justin Turner drove with a base hit in Taylor to complete the five-run inning.

The Padres responded with three runs of their own, to even out the score at six. Joe Kelly started the inning on the mound for LA. He faced five batters and allowed four to reach base from three hits and a walk.

Yimi Garcia replaced Kelly, inheriting the bases loaded with just one out. Ian Kinsler was hit by a pitch and Manny Machado drew a walk, each forcing a run to score. These would be credited to Kelly, who collected three earned runs on Saturday.

One hour and two minutes. Ninety-one pitches. Eight total runs scored. Crazy stuff.

Rich Hill’s second start for the Dodgers this season wasn’t quite where it needs to be. He allowed a home run to former teammate Manny Machado to give the Padres an early lead in the first inning.

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Hill’s shaky start continued in the third inning, allowing to runs to score, including another home run by Machado.

In Hill’s four innings, he threw 85 pitches and allowed 3 earned runs to score off of seven hits and one walk. It was a no-decision for Hill, with Ross Stripling getting the victory with his 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The game was just nine innings long, but “long” is the keyword in that phrase.

Saturday particulars

WP: Ross Stripling (2-2) 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K

LP: Kirby Yates (0-2) 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

SV: Kenley Jansen (12) 1 IP, 1 K

Home runs: Max Muncy (6), Manny Machado (2)

Box score

Up next

The Dodgers look to complete the series sweep of the Padres on Sunday. They send right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda to face off Nick Margevicius at 1:10 p.m. PDT.