Padres shut down Dodgers in NLDS Game 3, combine with Phillies to push NL

MLB’s 12-team postseason bracket has already been whittled down to eight contenders. Now, the top two seeds from each league have joined the fray in the Division Series. After advancing directly to their ALDS and NLDS slots via byes, the Astros, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves are taking on challengers.

Friday is shaping up as an unexpectedly busy day of baseball. ALDS Game 2 between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians had been scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed to Friday afternoon because of rain in the Bronx. That means a three-game day as the Phillies and Padres return home to host crucial Game 3s against the Braves and Dodgers. In Philadelphia, there’s extra intrigue thanks to the return of Spencer Strider, Atlanta’s rookie phenom (or one of them) who will take the mound after missing a month with an oblique injury. He will oppose Aaron Nola, the Phillies starter who has been nearly untouchable in recent starts.

Here’s the slate:

Game 2: Guardians (Bieber) at Yankees (Cortes) – 1:07 p.m., TBS (Yankees lead series, 1-0)

Game 3: Braves (Strider) at Phillies (Nola) – 4:37 p.m., FS1 (Series tied, 1-1)

Game 3: Dodgers (Gonsolin) at Padres (Snell) – 8:37 p.m., FS1 (Series tied, 1-1)

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Padres top Dodgers behind Blake Snell, spotless bullpen

It’s getting late early for the NL powerhouses. Hours after the Phillies took a 2-1 series lead on the No. 2 seed Braves, the Padres seized the advantage on the No. 1 seed Dodgers, winners of 111 regular season games. San Diego, playing a postseason game in front of their home fans for the first time since 2006, got the good version of Blake Snell. The lefty allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings, then gave way to a bullpen that has been the story of the series thus far.

The Padres bullpen has yet to allow a run in the NLDS. On Friday night, Nick Martinez, Luis Garcia, Robert Suarez and Josh Hader combined for 3 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and striking out six.

Story continues

The Padres kept pressure on Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin early, and manager Dave Roberts went to an early hook to bring in Andrew Heaney. Overall, it worked: Gonsolin allowed a run on a Jake Cronenworth single, but Heaney got through three innings allowing only a solo shot to a rejuvenated Trent Grisham. Usually, that wouldn’t be enough to beat this Dodgers lineup. But with the Padres’ high-powered bullpen arms all performing at the top of their games, it was.

Hader, after struggling mightily in his first days with San Diego, is seemingly back to his dominant Milwaukee form. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since Sept. 5, a span of 13 2/3 innings.

The Padres now have a 2-1 series lead on the Dodgers, and could eliminate them with a win Saturday night. That, however, is a story the Dodgers are familiar with. The San Francisco Giants shut them out, 1-0, in NLDS Game 3 last season, before they roared back to win in five…