Padres' Myers: Finally besting Dodgers 'makes it all worth it'
It would be hard to blame Wil Myers for basking in the glow of the San Diego Padres' Game 4 victory over the interstate rival Los Angeles Dodgers that sent the Friars to the National League Championship Series for the first time in 24 years.
"At some point, we had to beat this team in a big moment," Myers said after his club's 5-3 win, according to MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. "This is what we wanted."
Myers, the longest-tenured member of the Padres, has experienced nearly a decade of Los Angeles' dominance in the NL West. The Dodgers finished ahead of the Padres in each of the last 12 seasons. L.A. led the major leagues with 111 wins this year and won every series against San Diego during the regular season, finishing 22 games ahead of the Padres.
"I'll tell you what, eight years being here, the ups and the downs, I've lost a lot of games to that team up there," the versatile veteran said. "This one right here makes it all worth it."
Padres general manager A.J. Preller knew full well his team's fortunes hinged on finally slaying the "dragon up the freeway," as team chairman Peter Seidler called Los Angeles days after the trade deadline.
"The Dodgers, they set such a high bar," the GM said. "We understand there's a few more steps we're going to have to take. But most likely, if we were going to get to where we wanted to get to, it was going to have to go through the Dodgers."
L.A. led Game 4 by a 3-0 margin heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday night, but San Diego erupted for five runs in the frame, including infielder Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run single with two strikes and two outs in a tie game.
"It was incredible just to hear the crowd go insane," Cronenworth said of a raucous scene at Petco Park, according to MLB.com's Maria Guardado. "Pure elation."
Myers echoed his teammate's assessment of the home-field atmosphere.
"These are the two loudest games I've ever played," the 31-year-old said of Games 3 and 4. "The crowd brought it."
The Padres will play the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, which begins Tuesday in San Diego.