SAN DIEGO — In a battle of wills that captivated everyone watching, Andy Pages stood firm in the batter’s box against Mason Miller and refused to back down. The Los Angeles outfielder managed to foul off six consecutive pitches from San Diego’s elite closer during a remarkable plate appearance Tuesday evening — three blazing fastballs over 100 mph and three 87 mph breaking balls.
On the ninth offering from Miller, Pages finally made solid contact, sending a 101.5 mph fastball just deep enough to bring home Los Angeles’ go-ahead run in the final frame of an exciting 5-4 triumph over the Padres.
For the Dodgers, this represented far more than a simple sacrifice fly, as they handed Miller (1-1) his initial defeat since joining San Diego.
Pages demonstrated once more that the reigning World Series champions can rise to meet any challenge presented by their nearest regional competitors — regardless of whether it arrives at triple-digit velocity.
“That was one of the greatest at-bats I’ve ever seen in person,” Freddie Freeman said. “And I’ve been playing a long time. That was incredible.”
The Dodgers understand they’ll be facing Miller regularly in future seasons, having already encountered the reliever nicknamed “The Reaper” in both opening contests of their initial series against the Padres this year.
Following Miller’s successful escape from trouble on Monday, the Dodgers created an unearned run Tuesday to defeat the standout performer from San Diego’s formidable bullpen. Los Angeles benefited from an ABS challenge and an unlucky throwing mistake by Miller, though the most difficult task fell to Pages, the Cuban center fielder who has performed at an elite level this season in his third major league campaign.
“Good plate appearance from Pages,” Miller said. “Good, long at-bat, and just barely got it done. Unfortunate, for sure.”
The run batted in marked Pages’ 42nd of the campaign — 17 more than four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, and significantly higher than World Series hero Freeman or big-money acquisition Kyle Tucker.
“The work he’s put in showed itself there, but I think at the end of the day, it was just fight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was just will. Determination. Not worrying about mechanics and this and that. It’s just me versus you, and it was him versus Mason Miller, and he wasn’t going to lose that battle. Mason is the best in the game right now, and Andy willed himself to do something productive in that at-bat. … It’s a fight, and Andy is a tough kid, and he’s hungry.”
The scoring opportunity began with a one-out base on balls when Max Muncy successfully appealed a called third strike. Pinch-runner Alex Call nearly got caught off first base moments afterward — but Miller made his first professional error on his pickoff attempt when Ty France touched the ball but couldn’t secure it.
“Sped up on me a little bit and yanked it,” Miller said. “Probably threw it a little harder than I should have, too. Obviously want it back, but it is what it is.”
Pages worked his way back from an 0-2 deficit in remarkable fashion and eventually lofted his fly ball 275 feet toward right field. Fernando Tatis Jr.’s throw to home plate was intercepted by Sung-mun Song, providing Call sufficient time to score safely.
“The most important thing is to win,” Pages said through an interpreter. “To win at any cost. Doing that against a pitcher of that caliber is obviously really good, but I felt very confident the whole time through.”
The defeat marked Miller’s first since May 17, 2025 — exactly one year and two days earlier, during his tenure with the Athletics. He hadn’t suffered a loss or blown save since last Aug. 5 in his second appearance after the Padres acquired him in a bold trade centered around teenager Leo De Vries, one of baseball’s premier prospects.
Miller has arguably been baseball’s top reliever this season, leading the position in most WAR calculations and successfully converting all 15 save chances to pace the majors. He earned NL reliever of the month honors for March/April, striking out 53.7% of opposing hitters while surrendering just one run and six hits over 15 outings.
“We all know how good Miller has been, so having (Pages) grind it out, battle, spoil pitches — it was tremendous,” Call said. “Incredible job by Andy and the guys tonight.”
