The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off a pivotal National League West showdown on Monday night in stunning fashion.
It was a back-and-forth contest from the very first inning, and it ended with the Dodgers escaping with an 8-7 win in the 10th inning and the game-tying run on second base for San Diego.
The final inning included Manny Machado going off on the home plate umpire in disagreement with a strike three call.
But, despite the loss, Padres star outfielder Jackson Merrill had quite the admission, per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“That game was sick. I don’t care what anyone says. We didn’t win. That sucks. But that was an unbelievable baseball game. Back and forth all game.”
It was as back-and-forth as it could be.
In the top of the first inning, the Dodgers scored a pair of runs on a Freddie Freeman double and a Will Smith sacrifice fly.
The Padres answered right back with Machado and Merrill driving in a run each to tie the game.
The Padres scored a run in the second, the Dodgers then scored three in the third, and the Padres then took a one-run lead on a bases-clearing triple by Tyler Wade.
Then, Hyeseong Kim drove in Max Muncy to tie it at six in the top of the fifth, and that score held the rest of the game until the 10th inning.
All in all, it was quite the start to the series between the NL West rivals, and it could be a sign of things to come over the next few weeks.