The San Diego Padres’ road to World Series once again has the NL division rivals Los Angeles Dodgers as an obstacle. The Padres and the Dodgers will meet in the 2022 National League Division Series after Padres eliminated the 101-win New York Mets in the NL Wild-Card series.
The Padres, who were without their star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. throughout the regular season, entered the Mets’ series as underdogs. Despite a quality roster and an experienced manager in Bob Melvin, San Diego was deemed too far away from the New York team that strolled for the better part of the season.
However, the San Diego Padres showed they are much better than their regular season performances indicated. After splitting the first two games of the NLWC with the Mets, the Padres absolutely dominated Game 3.
Starter Joe Musgrove delivered a strong outing, allowing just one hit and striking out five Mets batters in seven innings of action. Stars Juan Soto and Manny Machado did their parts at-bats, recording two hits each, but the Padres also saw a strong contribution from the rest of their lineup. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim finished the game with three walks and three scores, while catcher Aaron Nola delivered two hits and two RBIs.
While the Mets are returning to the drawing board, the Padres are preparing to face their old nemesis, the Dodgers. Game 1 of the NLDS series is set to kick off on Tuesday night.
