LOS ANGELES — More than Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish coughing up hits and leads, more than Josh Hader returning to the mound for a second inning, and even more than a goose in the outfield taking a gander at a thrill ride of a baseball game, the oddest moment of San Diego’s NLDS Game 2 win Wednesday night was the pitch from a 31-year-old rookie that might have saved the Padres’ season.
The oddity wasn’t just that Robert Suárez happened to be in this seventh inning jam in the first place. Suárez is a righthander who did not make his pro debut until he was 24, leaving semipro ball and a construction job in Venezuela to pitch for Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League, the start of a strange seven-year international journey to this Dodger Stadium predicament.
The oddity was that Suárez threw a 1-and-0 changeup to Trea Turner at the most dangerous possible moment: runners at second and third and one out with the Padres clinging to a 4–3 lead. Suárez had not thrown a 1-and-0 changeup to a right-handed hitter all year.
