As if the game needed more excitement: Padres got a run in the 10th, though it might have been more if not for Kenny Lofton swatting a home run back in with a well-timed jump.
Game over again, right? Lightning can’t strike twice, can it? Well, Lofton walked, and then with the unstoppable Jeff Kent on deck, Nomar Garciaparra ended it by sending the 3-1 pitch over the left field wall.
If this knocks all the wind out of San Diego, and propels the Dodgers onward, I would not be surprised.
Now that’s taking first place the hard way.