Freddie Freeman just personally handed the Padres their own series back — two homers in the same ballpark, the night after the shutout. I'm Dodgers Daily, I'm Joey, and I have been WAITING for that man to do exactly that at Petco. I'm Cassidy. Today we've got Freeman's revenge game, Brandon Gomes telling reporters the front office planned for this, and a former Padre named Eric Lauer somehow becoming the answer with Snell and Glasnow out. The win was real, and so is the rotation problem. Let's do both. From Fredo Cervantes at Yahoo Sports:
After battling through a rough stretch while feeling under the weather and going 0-for-16 over his previous five games, Freeman erupted for his first multi-homer game of the season, powering the Dodgers to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Padres. The win pushed the Dodgers to 30-19 and back into first place in the NL West by a half-game.
Freddie Freeman was 0-for-16 over his last five games and feeling under the weather, and then he goes out and hits two home runs at Petco the very next night after the Dodgers got shut out there. He said it himself: cage work, cleaning up the cut swing, and he saw it show up in his first at-bat. That's a hitter adjusting in real time. Cassidy, the Padres had just blanked them 1-0, they were sitting in second, and Freddie Freeman — sick, cold, whatever — walks into their park and goes deep twice. That is a message, not just a comeback win. And the structural picture still hasn't gotten prettier just because the offense woke up. Snell and Glasnow are still out for an extended stretch, and Lauer — who grew up in the Padres system, debuted at Petco, and reconnected with Mark Prior, his minor league pitching coordinator, as he gets folded into this rotation — is the guy holding the line. So yes, the win was real. The roster situation is still rough. And Gomes told reporters — this is sourced, NYT, Monday — 'we went in with as much depth as we can.' Okay, Brandon. Snell's out, Glasnow's out, and the guy filling the hole is a former Padre. That's the depth plan? From r/baseball:
Miller’s first loss in a year Klein’s first career save 23 straight scoreless innings pitched by the Dodgers bullpen btw
Twenty-three straight scoreless innings from the bullpen is not a footnote — that's the reason this team stayed close long enough for Freeman to do what he did. Kyle Klein's first career save on top of that. Give the pen its due. Bobby Miller's first loss in a year and it barely even mattered because the offense and the bullpen covered for him. That's a deep team. Padres fans watching that have to feel sick. Here's one from r/baseball:
i am afraid to check my blood pressure this series feels like the playoffs
Blood pressure check in May — I feel that. Been there. That's what it looks like when the Padres are actually relevant: congratulations to them for making it competitive. I hate it. Half-game lead in the NL West, two arms out for an extended stretch, and the bullpen covering 23 scoreless innings — playoff-level stakes in May is the compliment, but the injury math is playoff-level hard too. From r/baseball:
Walks the first two, looks completely lost and defeated. Then locks the fuck in and closes it out. Final boss type shit
Walks the first two batters, looks like he's about to hand the Padres the game on a silver platter — and then he just locks in. In their house. That's the kind of closer moment that makes you want to run through a wall. Klein's first career save, inherited a mess, and got out of it. File that under reasons not to completely panic about the bullpen carousel — though we reserve the right to revisit when McDermott gets optioned and Hernández still hasn't thrown a pitch yet. This one's from The New York Times:
SAN DIEGO — A slew of recent pitching injuries complicates the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster, which will be without starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow for an extended period and is suddenly down several key relievers. The result is the club’s first true depth test.
Okay, so Snell goes under the knife Tuesday — NanoScope procedure, same surgery Tarik Skubal just had, done by the same doctor. Gomes said it could cut a month off the original two-to-three month timeline, but they won't know until they're in there. So that's not a return date, that's a best-case range. And Glasnow's also out for an extended stretch, so the guy who held the fort last night — Eric Lauer, who came up in the Padres system and made his debut at this exact park — he's not a bridge, he's load-bearing right now. Mark Prior coached him in the minors in San Diego and now he's the one plugging him into a Dodgers rotation that's missing two aces. You can't make that up. Gomes said Monday they went in with depth on purpose, quote, 'knowing that things can happen.' That's expectation management from a GM standing in the visiting dugout at Petco. Fair enough. Whether that depth actually holds through 19 games in 20 days starting May 29th is another question. He said, 'we've dealt with this in the past' — sure, but the past also includes blowing leads in October, so that's not the comfort he thinks it is. McDermott flashed and got optioned immediately. Who actually sticks when this carousel keeps spinning? The New York Times writes:
Lauer is here out of necessity, a byproduct of the Dodgers’ starting rotation depth that has crumbled since the calendar flipped to May. The club did not have a single pitcher miss a turn through the rotation in April before Tyler Glasnow went down with back spasms, and before Blake Snell lasted just one start and needed elbow surgery.
Eric Lauer is penciled in to start Tuesday against Colorado, but Roberts said he could be available for length out of the bullpen as early as tomorrow, which tells you exactly how thin things are right now. The NYT's framing is right: not a single starter missed a turn in April, and now Snell needs elbow surgery and Glasnow is out with back spasms. That's a structural problem with a timeline attached. And the guy filling that hole debuted in this exact ballpark eight years ago, came up under Mark Prior in the Padres' minor league system, and just posted a 6.69 ERA this season before Toronto DFA'd him. That's the rotation insurance. I'm not saying it doesn't work — I'm saying it better, because there's nothing behind it. The Prior connection is the thread worth pulling here — he's not just a warm body they grabbed, he's a guy their own pitching coach already built a relationship with coming up. Brandon Gomes told reporters 'we've dealt with this in the past,' which is either genuinely reassuring or the most expensive shrug in the National League, depending on how long Snell and Glasnow are out. The 'full circle moment' stuff is a great story — guy comes back to Petco as a Dodger, Prior's waiting for him. Poetic. But I have that pre-2020 alarm going off in the back of my head that says 'poetic' and 'reliable starter' are not the same thing. From CBS Los Angeles:
The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed veteran reliever Jonathan Hernández and optioned reliever Chayce McDermott back to the minors after one appearance. The injury-plagued World Series champions made their latest pitching shuffle Monday before they faced the NL West rival San Diego Padres for the first time this season.
Chayce McDermott gets one scoreless inning against the Angels, looks fine, and immediately gets sent to Triple-A so the Dodgers can sign Jonathan Hernández — a guy who hasn't thrown a major league pitch since three appearances with Seattle in August 2024. That's the carousel, and Gomes told the Times Monday they went in with depth on purpose. Okay. That's a choice. McDermott flashes and gets optioned. Hernández is coming off a 4.80 ERA in Triple-A with the Phillies organization. This is what 'depth on purpose' looks like right now — because Snell and Glasnow are both out, and the front office is literally dipping into Philadelphia's castoffs to keep the lights on. Worth noting — second-lowest ERA in baseball at 3.21, injuries and all. The structure is still holding. But the 19-games-in-20-days stretch starting May 29th hits differently now that two of your biggest starters are confirmed out for an extended run, not just a spot start. Gomes said they planned for this. Fine. But 'we planned for it' is PR until we see which OKC arm actually sticks when the carousel stops spinning and somebody has to throw real innings in late May. If Dodgers Daily is part of your routine, take a minute to subscribe or leave a review wherever you're listening. It really helps other fans find the show, and it helps us keep bringing you the daily rundown.
You'll find links to every story we mentioned today in the show notes, so if something caught your ear, you can dig in a little deeper there.
That's Dodgers Daily Podcast for this Wednesday, May 20th. This is a Lantern Podcast.