Manny Machado's heads-up play helps the Padres win against the Dodgers in NLDS Game 3

SAN DIEGO — In the moments after his team lost another tough game after the San Diego Padres defeated his Los Angeles Dodgers in front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history with this National League Division Series close to being decided , Walker Buehler was not unlike the countless fans who saw a sequence in the second inning and were a little confused.

That game — a 6-5 win in San Diego that featured two ridiculous innings and little offense otherwise — could have been due to a subtle decision by Manny Machado, the Padres' blitz-repellent third baseman. His decision to move from the infield dirt between first and second to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman's throwing lane may have made all the difference.

“I mean, both feet are on the turf,” said Buehler, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher. “I don’t think that’s part of the baseline. But I’m not a referee.”

Neither is Dave Roberts. But the Dodgers manager knew the rule.

“You can create your own base path if you don’t want to avoid a tag,” Roberts explained. “And it was an exhilarating game.”

And given the source, it was a remarkable admission. A little more than a day had passed since Roberts, in an attempt to galvanize his team, went public that he believed Machado had aimed a baseball at him. So there was irony in the air on Tuesday evening.

The Dodgers had unintentionally thrown to Machado. He had made it possible.

Machado knew as soon as the ball left Jackson Merrill's bat. It was the bottom of the second, and when Machado singled off the first, the resulting grounder went to Freeman.

The first baseman held onto it and threw it from his knees toward second base — only to see it bounce off the back of Machado's helmet and roll into left field.

Manny Machado advances to third on a throwing error by Freddie Freeman pic.twitter.com/FEOpgsUIvm

– FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 9, 2024

“Yeah, I mean, I just know the rules,” Machado said. “I’m just trying to make it hard for him to go to second base. This is the first time something like this has happened to me.”

He smiled. It wasn't the first time he had prepared for this.

“We’ve been doing this for years,” Machado said. “I’ve been doing this since I was in Baltimore back in the day with Buck (Showalter). So you just learned the rules. And you have to know what to do out there.”

The hint was apt. When he turned what was then St. upside down three years ago. Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman caused controversy for a double play collision avoidance. Meanwhile, Showalter told us The athlete“It should be celebrated. It’s a great baseball game for a thinking man.”

On Tuesday, Edman and the Dodgers watched the bottom of the second round unravel before them.

Thanks to his alertness, both Machado, who had hit a leadoff single, and Merrill were safe. Then Xander Bogaerts scored on a fielder's choice to Machado and hit a throw of his own. David Peralta blasted a two-run go-ahead double down the right field line. Jake Cronenworth hit an infield single. Kyle Higashioka lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Two batters later, Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted his third home run of the Series as Petco Park erupted.

Machado had led off a rare six-run inning. But there was little surprise after that — and not just because the Padres are great at making contact.

“We always practice these things,” left fielder Jurickson Profar said of Machado’s base-running gambit.

“That was a great base-running play by Manny,” Cronenworth said. “It’s a tough game for a first baseman.”

“I would have done the same thing as a baserunner,” Freeman said. “I got really far in the grass and he got really far in the grass. I can safely say that I wouldn't do anything differently at first. I thought I made a perfect throw.”

When it was over, Machado refused to bite. He had been asked about his recent controversy in which Roberts was accused of disrespect.

“That what? “About our W tonight?” Machado said, grinning. “I mean, it feels great to win. We still have one left and we're looking forward to going out and fighting tomorrow. It's torture. Baseball is a real challenge. We got 27 outs tonight and it was a great place to play in front of that crowd.”

It had been a damn good game. Early in the first, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was led to believe Profar had again robbed him of a home run. Early in the third period, Teoscar Hernández had hit a grand slam against Michael King, sending the crowd into temporary silence.

King then retired the final eight batters he faced. And then a procession of highly dynamic relievers took the mound, one by one, just as the Padres envisioned when they committed to it at the trade deadline.

It started with Jeremiah Estrada hitting Hernández.

It ended with Robert Suarez recording the final four outs and doing nothing but pumping gas.

Petco Park might never have been louder, and that was saying something.

“They prepared us,” Estrada said. “San Diego definitely prepared us to feel what it was like because they gave us that kind of atmosphere here all year long. … We’re all hungry, we want to get into the game and whatever the game situation is, we’re ready.”

The Padres proved it on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The atmosphere heated up – first between the dugouts, then between the visiting team and the home crowd. Machado then gathered his teammates and told them to stay focused. Then they did, en route to an eight-run loss.

On Tuesday, the setting shifted to a far friendlier and, as it turned out, more civil atmosphere. This time, no baseballs or other foreign objects were thrown onto the field.

That wasn't the only difference. Thanks in part to Machado's exhilarating play, these Padres – expressive, energetic, uncompromising – are now just one win away from the National League Championship Series.

“I love playing, we love playing baseball,” Machado said. “We go out there, have fun and leave it on the field 27 times every night, day in and day out. The crowd here has been incredible for us all year and it’s been fun playing in front of them.”

— The Athletics Andy McCullough contributed to this report.

(Photo by Machado: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)