SAN DIEGO -- Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.

Mookie Betts is certainly a big-time player, and his game-sealing catch to rob Tommy Pham in the Dodgers¡¯ 2-0 win over the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park definitely classifies as a big-time play.

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With the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth, Pham laced a liner to right-center field off Victor Gonz¨¢lez. Off the bat, it looked as if it would land in front of Betts and the game would be tied at 2. Betts, who is a five-time Gold Glove Award winner in right field, showed he can flash some leather in center, laying out for a diving catch to secure the Dodgers¡¯ eighth consecutive win.

¡°Mookie has played a lot of innings in center field, but with that said, it takes an elite defender in center to make that play,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. ¡°A lot of things have to line up. There¡¯s just a handful of guys that could¡¯ve probably made that play. That¡¯s why he¡¯s arguably the best all-around player in baseball.¡±

The degree of difficulty was about as high as it gets. Per Statcast, Betts had a 10 percent chance to make the catch, having to travel 52 feet in 3.3 seconds, making it a five-star play.

¡°That play is really hard to make,¡± said Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. ¡°For him to be able to do that, it¡¯s just another reason why Mookie is the best. That was a big catch because extra innings would¡¯ve been tough for us, so that was huge.¡±

Betts said he blacked out during the play, but as soon as he saw he secured the catch, he pounded his chest and let out some emotion. After a strong defensive showing during last year¡¯s postseason, Saturday¡¯s play will be right up there on his personal highlight reel.

¡°You¡¯re just kind of in the moment and playing the game,¡± Betts told SportsNet LA after the game. ¡°I just know when the ball went up in the air, I had to go catch it. And that¡¯s what I did.¡±

While it was Betts¡¯ play that sealed the win for the Dodgers, it was Kershaw who dominated the Padres¡¯ offense on Saturday, leading Los Angeles to the win. After using six relievers in Friday¡¯s 12-inning thriller, the Dodgers were in need of a solid start from Kershaw on Saturday. The future Hall of Famer delivered.

The Dodgers¡¯ ace had all of his pitches working and benefitted from a slight increase in velocity with the four-seam fastball. But it was his signature slider that had the Padres¡¯ hitters off balance.

¡°That¡¯s just classic, vintage Kersh,¡± said Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who hit his fifth homer of the season in the ninth. ¡°He threw the ball great. ¡­ That guy is just a gamer.¡±

Kershaw threw 25 sliders, recording 12 swings-and-misses. Of his eight strikeouts, seven of them ended on the slider. Opposing hitters came into the game with a .256 average against Kershaw¡¯s fastball. The Padres went 2-for-12 with seven strikeouts against the pitch.

Over his last three starts, Kershaw has allowed one run over 19 innings, striking out 22 in the process. Dodgers starters are 9-1 with a 2.56 ERA and 94 strikeouts this season.

But aside from keeping Padres hitters in check throughout the night, it was also Kershaw that had the best at-bat of the game, drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk against Yu Darvish in the fifth. Kershaw fouled off two cutters and a slider on a 2-2 count to keep the inning alive. Darvish proceeded to miss the zone with back-to-back cutters, allowing Zach McKinstry to score the go-ahead run.

The last Dodgers pitcher to draw a bases-loaded walk in the regular season was Kershaw on June 24, 2017. If you include the postseason, it was Darvish who accomplished it, in Game 3 of the 2017 NL Championship Series against the Cubs.

¡°Just trying to be annoying, really,¡± Kershaw said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to get a hit off him, he¡¯s got too good of stuff. So it was just kind of trying to be a nuisance as best you can and fouling off pitches and making him work a little bit. Fortunate to get a walk right there.¡±

The much-anticipated series against the Padres has had it all. It has had great pitching, a benches-clearing incident on Friday and Kershaw and Jurickson Profar exchanging pleasantries on Saturday. But through two games, it¡¯s been the Dodgers that have sent the message. They¡¯ll lean on their $40 million signing Trevor Bauer to secure the sweep on Sunday.

? Things get chippy between LA, SD ... again

¡°They¡¯re a good club, and obviously we know that,¡± Roberts said. ¡°We knew it was going to be emotional and intense, and it has certainly lived up to the billing.¡±