The Padres' bullpen blinked for the first time Saturday night.
It did not — would not — buckle.
"Because we're a bunch of (expletive) dogs," a beer-and-champagne soaked Tim Hill said after a 5-3 win over the Dodgers punched their ticket to the NLCS. "That's it. A bunch of (expletive) dogs, bro. Just a bunch of (expletive) dogs with big (nerves)."
There's really no other explanation.
Through the first three games of the NLDS, the Padres' pen had not allowed a run in 13 innings against the vaunted Dodgers, the owner of a franchise-record 111 victories and a plus-334 run differential that was tied for the fourth highest since 1900.
It posted zero after zero after Mike Clevinger could not get out of the third on Tuesday.
It stranded runners on the corners when Yu Darvish left it in a bind on Wednesday.
It made a one-run lead stand up on Friday night at Petco Park.
The blink arrived when rookie Steven Wilson — after two strikeouts in a scoreless inning in New York and 1 1/3 scoreless innings after Clevinger's abbreviated start in L.A. — walked Mookie Betts to start the seventh. Betts moved to second on a wild pitch and the Dodgers had runners on the corners after Trea Turner's bunt single down the first base line.
Wilson caught a break when a runaway slider nicked Freddie Freeman, loading the bases but sending Betts back to third instead of into the dugout with a run via a wild pitch.
Betts ultimately scored, but the Padres traded his run for an out on Will Smith's fly ball to left.
The left-handed Hill jogged in from the bullpen from there and had runners on second and third after Turner and Freeman executed a double-steal on a first-pitch called strike to the left-handed Max Muncy.
Hill hit the strike zone with a second sinker and missed with a third. After Muncy fouled off a four-seamer he swung through a sinker up in the zone for the second out.
The next batter, still very much a threat in Justin Turner, was up 2-1 in the count when he grounded out to shortstop to leave the Dodgers' 3-0 lead within striking distance.
"It ended up costing us," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There was an opportunity to tack and we couldn't do that and you saw what those guys kind of being able to get hits with guys in scoring position to kind of scratch and claw back into the game and tack on.
"We just couldn't do that."
No, Roberts' Dodgers had gone through an 0-for-20 stretch with runners in scoring position, dating back to Game 1 to Freeman's two-run double in the second inning Saturday and did not get another opportunity with a runner on base thanks to Hill's Houdini act.
Robert Suarez continued his coming-out party with a strikeout in an 11-pitch, perfect eighth, and Josh Hader slammed the door shut with three strikeouts in the ninth.
All told, the Padres' bullpen allowed just the one run in 16 innings in this series to the Dodgers.
"That's one of the best lineups you're ever going to see over there," Padres catcher Austin Nola said. "I mean, that's one of the best you're going to find in history, the way they put up runs the whole year. What they did was amazing.
"That was more than what their 'stuff' is."
Just like Hill said.
