The Padres had already been hit by pitches four times and the Dodgers three times in the four-game series when Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box in the ninth inning Thursday night.

Two runs had shaved the Padres’ lead to three.

Runners were at second and third with two outs and Robert Suarez had fallen behind the reigning NL MVP.

The first three misses were arm-side.

The fourth pitch?

A 100 mph four-seamer directly into Ohtani’s back, a pitch that the Dodgers decried as intentional.

“They are entitled to their opinion; they can say whatever they want,” Suarez said Friday through interpreter Pedro Gutierrez. “That was not the case. I just went in there to try to save the game.”

Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson immediately ejected both Suarez and bench coach Brian Esposito, the acting manager following Mike Shildt’s earlier ejection, as is standard when warnings have been issued.

A day later, Major League Baseball issued Suarez a three-game suspension, a decision that he is appealing. Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts served their one-game suspensions on Friday and received undisclosed fines for unsportsmanlike conduct and contributing to a benches-clearing incident.

Shildt is already balking at the length of his closer’s ban.

“A case will be made,” Shildt said. “ … There’s a strong appeal to lessen it. I don’t think it’s going to go away, unfortunately, but at a minimum (make it) less than three games.”

The Padres could argue that hitting Ohtani to put the tying run on base didn’t make sense in a series in which the visitors were trying to avoid a four-game sweep. They could also point out that they did not make a production out of Matt Sauer staying in Tuesday’s game after he hit Jose Iglesias with a pitch after warnings had been issued, because Shildt did not believe that pitch was intentional.

The Dodgers aren’t willing to grant that kind of grace. Thursday was the second time that Ohtani was hit after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the series, leading Roberts to say “clearly there was intent behind it.”

This is the second time that Suarez is appealing disciplinary action from the league, although he dropped his appeal of the 10-game, sticky-stuff ban that he received in September 2023.

The Padres will have to play with a man down on the roster once Suarez begins serving his suspension, however long the final number is.

Suarez had declined to speak to reporters Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. He spoke to reporters Friday at Petco Park before his suspension was issued.

“From my perspective, I was just coming in to close out that game, looking for the save opportunity,” Suarez said. “I was never trying to get to run into trouble or hit anybody. Unfortunately, it happened, I got ejected and I couldn’t finish up the game. But we won as a team and we were able to salvage the last game.”

Darvish’s next step

Before batting practice, threw 39 pitches over two simulated innings as three hitters — and Lake Elsinore Storm hitters and — rotated into the box. It was the most significant step since a setback following a mid-May rehab assignment at Triple-A Las Vegas.

At the time, Darvish appeared to be on the verge of finally joining the rotation, but the elbow discomfort that shelved him in spring training did not feel quite right.

The next step is waiting to see how Darvish recovers from Friday’s session.

“He looks good,” Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla said. “ … Velocity was good — 93, 94 the entire time. Pitch shapes look pretty good. So we’re pretty happy with it. … Next step is to see how he comes in tomorrow, see how he feels and then we’ll start building the plan for the next one.”

Notable

Annie Heilbrunn contributed to this report. 

Originally Published: June 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM PDT