The San Diego Padres banned a veteran baseball reporter from the dugout during Game 3 of the NLDS

The San Diego Padres reportedly banned Fox Sports baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal from their dugout for Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune confirmed that the Padres were unhappy with something Rosenthal wrote as part of his work for The Athletic: They did not participate in in-game interviews with Rosenthal, a normal part of a broadcast are.

Per Acee:

That would be a Column written by Ken Rosenthal for The Athletic, one of his employers. (The other employer is Fox, for which he moonlights during the regular season and postseason.) In the column, he used the word “punky” to describe Machado's behavior and referred to Tatis as a “smiling, dancing peacock.” ”

Suffice it to say, the Padres were not happy with Rosenthal's brand of journalism. The team didn't do the usual in-game interviews with him on Fox last night. It was a one-game boycott and those interviews are expected to continue tonight.

The Padres appeared motivated by Rosenthal's words, scoring six runs in the second inning en route to a 6-5 win at Petco Park. Tatis Jr. hit another home run of his own, continuing his historic postseason run.

The Padres now hold a 2-1 lead against the Dodgers and are just one win away from a trip to the NLCS. The Padres have not been in the NLCS since 2022. They want to knock out the Dodgers for the second time in three years. Los Angeles wants to force a Game 5, which would take place on Friday night in LA.

Game 4 takes place on Wednesday, with first pitch at 9:08 p.m. ET. Dylan Cease will pitch for San Diego while the Dodgers use a bullpen game.

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