Padres found their postseason blueprint in win over Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Wednesday night's game was quite telling for the San Diego Padres. Facing the two-time defending World Series champions in Los Angeles, the Padres were able to do something that seldom occurs: Defeat a Dodgers ace.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has owned San Diego this season. Entering Wednesday night, he had given up three earned runs in three starts (20 innings) against the Padres this season. But the Friars played their game to a different tune a fourth time around.

They gritted out at-bats. They stole three bases. Manny Machado had a timely home run. En route to a 5-1 road victory, the Padres tagged Yamamoto for four runs (two earned) on Wednesday. It still wasn't a bad outing for Yamamoto, but it took him 88 pitches to get through six innings, which is opposite of his usual efficiency.

This game was a potential glimpse into what the Padres are capable of doing in October. They will face plenty of strong pitching in the playoffs, but can they apply the pressure in each at-bat, as well as on the bases? If so, then we can strap in for an exciting Padres postseason.

Padres don't need much from their starting rotation if everyone else applies pressure

What's especially interesting about San Diego's win over the Dodgers on Wednesday was that Robbie Ray was pulled after recording 10 outs. If your ace is getting yanked in the fourth inning, it usually spells trouble, particularly on the road against a dynamite team like the Dodgers.

Rather, San Diego played to their strengths. On top of timely hitting and working deep into counts, the Padres' bullpen was lights out once more. Of course, you do not want five relievers pitching in every postseason game, but in games like this one, the Padres showed they can win regardless of how well their starter does.

Jason Adam is back. Mason Miller and Adrián Morejón make up an intimidating back-end duo. Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez are reliable middle-innings guys. That's where the Padres will outrun the competition, in the bullpen. But, if the rest of the team can wear down the opposition like they did on Wednesday, there's no reason that San Diego can't make a run in October.

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