Plaschke: Dodger up! Desperate Dodgers drop Padres and return to Dodger Stadium for Game 5

The opening statement read as two batters entered the game: Mookie Betts hit a ball to Chula Vista, the stunned stadium enveloping him in the sweetest silence.

Shortly thereafter came the follow-up statement: Shohei Ohtani shot the ball down the right field line at about 1,000 miles per hour, and the silence turned to shock.

Closing arguments followed soon after as Will Smith fired another weak throw over the center field fence, one dugout danced, the other pouted – the game was over.

Three innings, a message the Dodgers powerfully delivered to the suddenly beleaguered and humiliated San Diego Padres on Wednesday:

This is not 2022. This will not happen again. This won't be easy. This is at a distance.

Do the Padres want to steal this National League Division series again? This time they have to do it in a winner-take-all game at Dodger Stadium.

Buckle up. Peel off. The fifth and final game of this brawl takes place Friday night at Chavez Ravine, with the Dodgers providing drama with a desperate 8-0 win at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

It was the largest shutout win in Dodgers playoff history. It created the possibility of one of the greatest postseason series victories in Dodgers history.

“See…you…Friday!” A resilient group of Dodgers fans chanted at Petco and it should indeed be something to see.

It will be the biggest playoff elimination game at Dodger Stadium since Chris Taylor won the wild-card contest in 2021 with a walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Read more: The Dodgers show no panic and dominate the Padres to force a decisive NLDS Game 5

But this feels bigger. This is Dodger Stadium vs. Machado, Shohei vs. Tatis, Grinders vs. Showboaters, the real Freeway Series.

“When you get to the postseason, it’s a road fight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It's about people, players, and your desire must be more than your opponent's. And seeing our guys go through what they’ve been through and how they respond to it, I’m really excited for Game 5.”

These are the two best teams still in the playoffs. Since the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League's other divisional series, the winner of this game will likely be the favorite not only to advance to the World Series but also to win it.

It's only fitting that this neighborhood standoff, beaten and crushed by the Padres in four games two years ago, would come down to one game, one night, one more bit of drama.

The series opener featured a huge first at bat from home run-hitting Ohtani. The second game was full of boastful Padres taunting bottle-throwing fans. When Game 3 came to San Diego, the Dodgers weren't initially happy with it and couldn't prevail due to a rather poor loss.

That set up Game 4 on Wednesday, a contest in which the Dodgers entered without two key injured players – Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas – and were without a starter and a bullpen.

All this, and the statistic circulated that teams that lead a five-game series 2-1 at home win the series 82% of the time.

Turns out the Dodgers had the Padres right where they wanted them.

During practice before the game, they were so relaxed that they played mini golf in the clubhouse.

“I think it was a lot brighter than people would think,” Mookie Betts said. “We weren’t uptight. We had fun, laughed and joked. We knew what we were going to do.”

When the game started, they were relaxed and ready to engage. The best example is Betts, who hit two home runs and three RBIs in his last two playoff games after failing to hit a home run and one RBI in his previous nine games.

“We have a lot of grinders and a lot of fighters,” Betts said. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. Nothing is easy. So you simply have to take the cards you are dealt and play them. And that’s exactly what we did.”

The lineup rotated wisely and freely, especially against Padres starter Dylan Cease, who scored three runs in 1⅔ innings after the Dodgers predicted they might hit him on short rest.

“One of the things we’re thinking about is that he won’t be able to rest 100%. We will let him work,” said Teoscar Hernández before the game.

The aggression also returned as Michael Kopech unapologetically threw the ball inside to a flattened Fernando Tatis Jr.

Then, of course, there was the brilliant bullpen work, where eight Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Padres to five singles and two extra-base hits. The Padres haven't scored in 15 innings since the second inning of Game 3, and they have to think about Friday, when they'll surely face some of those Dodgers relievers again.

“Obviously the energy makes it a little different, but it's the same job,” said Kopech, who pitched a one-hit inning. “If we come out and have to play our roles a little differently than usual, we end up dropping out. That’s why it’s important for us to be able to do that in a big moment like this.”

The only thing that seemed to be able to stop the Dodgers that night was third baseman Mark Ripperger.

With two outs in the fourth, Ohtani bravely raced around third base with a sharp grounder just inside the third base line. He could have stolen a run if the ball hadn't bounced off Ripperger and was eventually caught by Manny Machado, who threw Ohtani out at home.

Cameras later captured Ohtani yelling at Ripperger in a rare show of anger.

A day after coming close to elimination, the Dodgers showed they were emotionally prepared to deal with their intense little brothers.

To prove it, both they and their fans have one more chance, one more moment, one more game.

Dodger up.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.