Padres watch Dragon rise again as LA overcomes NLDS deficit and finishes its season

The Padres, who once held a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series, watched everything slip away from them on Friday as the Dodgers reigned supreme again, ending the Friars’ season at 2-0.

They sent Yu Darvish to the mound in a Game 5 matchup that the game’s Japanese stars desperately wanted – against the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Her confidence paid off in one sense, as Darvish gave up just two runs over 6.2 innings. But Yamamoto, who went five innings, and LA’s bullpen beat the Padre veteran, giving up just two hits and retiring 19 consecutive batters to end the game and win the best-of-five series.

Luis Arraez and Kyle Higashioka had those hits, both singles, in the third, but Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded in a double play to end the inning.

No padre reached base again.

An added heartache — the Padres had hoped to have a successful playoff run in memory of Peter Seidler, the team owner who died nearly 11 months ago. He also famously spoke about how the Padres wanted to “slay the dragon” on the highway – which they did months later, in 2022, on the way to the NLCS.

But not this year. Starting Sunday, the Dodgers will face the Mets in the NL Championship Series.