SAN DIEGO — Petco Park was as full as it could be.
Most were wearing brown and gold and spent much of the night waving the gold flags they received on their way through the gates.
The 45,137 in attendance comprised the largest Petco Park crowd in seven years and was the first to witness a postseason game in San Diego since 2006, and they made the downtown ballpark brown and gold and loud.
The Padres brought them out of their seats early and kept them on the edge of their seats throughout Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
And now, Saturday’s assemblage has a chance to witness the Padres advancing to the NL Championship Series.
In an excruciating night for batters attempting to drive in runners in scoring position and those watching them trying to do so, the Padres beat the Dodgers 2-1 to take a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five NLDS.
The teams had runners in scoring position in nine half-innings. Of the 14 such runners, just two scored. Only one was driven in by a hit.
The Padres scored in the first inning on Jake Cronenworth’s two-out single and in the fourth on Trent Grisham’s lead-off home run. The Dodgers’ run came on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell left to a standing ovation after allowing a one-out double by Max Muncy in the sixth inning.
Nick Martinez replaced Snell and struck out Justin Turner and got Chris Taylor on a dribbler in front of the mound, which Martinez barehanded and threw to first base.
Taylor’s groundout was the 19th consecutive at-bat with runners in scoring position that the Dodgers did not get a hit. That went back to their Game 1 victory.
Luis Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh, Robert Suarez a scoreless eighth and, with a robust “Beat L.A.” chant as the soundtrack, Josh Hader a scoreless ninth.
The Padres’ bullpen has thrown 13 scoreless innings in the series.
The Dodgers left a runner at second base in the first inning, the bases loaded in the third, scored a run but left a runner on second in the fifth and a runner at second in the sixth. The Padres scored a run but also left runners at second and third in the first inning, did so again in the second and left runners at first and second in the third and fourth and first and third in the sixth.
The Padres were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and the Dodgers were 0-for-9.
That meant most of the biggest cheers were for the work done by Snell and the four relievers.
The crowd was far less blue than for a regular season visit by the Dodgers. And it was ready to erupt.
That was the case from before the teams were introduced, and the noise was already at frenzy level in the bottom of the first.
The Padres got the early lead they said was so important in the bottom of the first with help from Juan Soto’s first extra-base hit of this postseason.
Soto’s double lined to right field at 113.2 mph was also hardest hit as a member of the Padres and the hardest ball put in play by any Padres player this postseason.
Tony Gonsolin, who was making his third start back from a forearm strain that sidelined him most of August and September, walked Manny Machado before getting Josh Bell on a pop-up to Turner at third base.
That brought up Cronenworth, who on the seventh pitch he saw drove reached up to drive a split-finger fastball to center field that scored Soto and moved Machado to third. It was the third time in four at-bats that Cronenworth drove in a run.
Wil Myers struck out to end the inning.
The Padres threatened in the second, driving Gonsolin from the game after one-out singles by Trent Grisham and Austin Nola. Andrew Heaney took three pitches to end the inning, getting Jurickson Profar on what was ostensibly a bunt attempt and Soto on a pop-up.
Machado walked leading off the third inning, and Josh Bell traded places with him on a fielder’s choice. After Cronenworth reached on a flare to left field that caromed off the glove of shortstop Trea Turner, Myers and Kim struck out to end the inning.
Grisham did not wait for anyone to reach second base or even wait for a second pitch in the bottom of the fourth, lining a home run to the seats beyond right field to make it 2-0. With a chance to add on, Bell struck out with two runners on.
The Dodgers got their run in the fifth, but it could have been much worse for Snell.
Trayce Thompson, the Dodgers’ No. 8 hitter, led off the inning with a single blooped to right field and went to third on Austin Barnes’ double. That brought up the top of the Dodgers’ order, widely considered the best trio in the league.
Betts quickly halved the Padres’ lead with a sacrifice fly to Soto in right field before Snell got Trea Turner on a pop fly to Machado in foul territory and Freeman on a grounder to Machado.
