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The Dodgers put together their biggest inning in San Diego in nearly six decades on Friday night, erupting for nine runs in the sixth inning to blow out the Padres, per MLB.com. After getting shut down 7-1 by San Diego just a day earlier, this was the kind of emphatic response you want to see from a team that needed to remind everyone — including themselves — what this lineup is capable of.

A nine-run inning is rare in any ballpark, but doing it at Petco Park against a Padres pitching staff that has been solid this season makes it stand out even more. The last time we saw an inning this big in San Diego was nearly sixty years ago — a genuinely historic offensive explosion. When this lineup clicks, it can bury opponents in a single frame, and that’s exactly what happened here.

Shohei Ohtani, freshly voted an All-Star starter after dominating Phase 1 fan voting, has been the engine of this offense all season. His presence in the middle of the lineup changes how opposing pitchers approach every at-bat around him. Even on nights where he doesn’t put up monster numbers individually, the gravitational pull he exerts on opposing game plans opens things up for everyone else. A blowout like this, with runs coming in bunches, is a direct byproduct of having a lineup that can punish any mistake from top to bottom.

Kyle Tucker, who returned to the lineup recently looking to turn the page on a rough first half, needed a game like this. Getting to swing in high-leverage, bases-loaded situations with the lineup already rolling is the best medicine for a hitter trying to find his timing. Tucker’s talent has never been in question — he’s a career .270-plus hitter with legitimate 30-homer power — and a breakout game in a blowout could be the spark that gets him going into the second half.

Andy Pages, who advanced as an All-Star voting finalist in Phase 2, has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the lineup this year. The 23-year-old has shown he belongs in a big-league lineup every day, and games like this — where the whole offense is firing — only build his confidence further. His development arc has been impressive, going from a prospect with swing-and-miss concerns to a legitimate middle-of-the-order contributor.

Max Muncy, another Phase 2 All-Star finalist, has been steady as usual. Muncy’s patience at the plate and ability to grind at-bats makes him a perfect table-setter in big innings. When a lineup starts stringing together quality at-bats, Muncy is often at the center of it because he simply refuses to give away plate appearances.

After getting embarrassed in the previous game — with Yoshinobu Sasaki struggling with his command in that 7-1 loss — this was exactly the kind of bounce-back game we needed. One of the things I like about this team is that they rarely let a bad loss linger. They come back the next day and put up crooked numbers. A nine-run inning does more than win one game; it resets the confidence of an entire clubhouse. The Padres series has been a mixed bag, but walking away from a game like this, the Dodgers have to feel good about where this offense is heading into the All-Star break.

Source(s): Staff (MLB.com) | First reported: June 28, 2026 4:01 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers