The Dodgers and San Diego Padres enter their remaining collection of 2024 with management of their very own future. Each groups have a crack at profitable the Nationwide League West.
For the Padres (90-66), the duty is sort of a bit harder. The Dodgers (93-63) have a three-game benefit with solely six common season video games remaining. Nonetheless, a collection sweep by the Padres would go away the 2 groups tied atop the division — a nightmare situation for a Dodgers crew that’s been in first place all season.
So, how did the Padres get right here? And will the Dodgers be anxious?
Listed below are three causes to take San Diego significantly:
1. The Padres’ rotation is healthier than the Dodgers’
San Diego took a while to seek out the correct mix of starters and relievers, with some surprising setbacks alongside the way in which.
Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove had been anticipated to guide the rotation, however each missed time at midseason with accidents. (Darvish additionally left the crew for private causes for about six weeks.) Matt Waldron was tied for the crew lead in begins when he was optioned to Triple-A in August with a 4.79 ERA; he hasn’t been again since.
Dylan Stop (a spring coaching acquisition) and Michael King (a reliever most of final season acquired within the Juan Soto commerce) have crammed in additional than capably. Darvish and Musgrove are again and searching like their pre-injury selves. Commerce deadline acquisition Martin Perez is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 9 begins since he was acquired.
That’s a wealth of riches for October, when a crew’s prime three starters matter greater than their bottom-of-the-rotation depth. However the Dodgers are struggling to even determine a prime three.
Jack Flaherty has delivered as marketed, going 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 9 begins since he was acquired on the commerce deadline. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is ostensibly the number-2, although the Dodgers are detest to make use of him on fewer than 5 days’ relaxation, and his final begin noticed him permit 4 runs in three innings Sunday in opposition to the Rockies.
Walker Buehler (1-6, 5.63 ERA) and Landon Knack (3-4, 3.39 ERA, 4.71 FIP) are the highest candidates to pitch a possible Sport 3, and nobody else — wholesome or in any other case — has made even seven appearances for the Dodgers this season. That Tony Gonsolin is even into consideration for October begins, 13 months faraway from Tommy John surgical procedure, speaks volumes to the state of the Dodgers’ rotation.
2. Their lineup is extra balanced
The Padres can’t compete with the Dodgers’ 1-2-3 hitters of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. No different crew can, actually. However their lineup is enviably deep — a supply of concern for the Dodgers at instances this season.
Because the All-Star break, not one of the Padres’ prime eight hitters has a Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) beneath 113. Jackson Merrill is a robust candidate, if not the strongest, to win the NL Rookie of the 12 months award. Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting like he did earlier than a midseason femur harm (.634 slugging share in 17 video games since returning). Manny Machado not too long ago broke the crew report for residence runs.
The remainder of the group — Jurickson Profar, Luis Arraez, Donovan Solano, Jake Cronenworth — is combining to strike out fewer than any lineup in baseball. That makes them a troublesome matchup in October, when each crew has pitchers able to utilizing the strikeout to get out of jams.
3. They’re motivated to take their large brother down a peg
It’s simple to overstate the X-factor of motivation, however let’s face it: the Padres have a chip on their shoulder with regards to beating the Dodgers. They’re 7-3 in opposition to the Dodgers this season. The Dodgers’ accidents and the Padres’ in-house expertise solely helps clarify a part of the explanation why.
The Dodgers are a greater crew at residence (50-28) than on the highway (43-35) this season — almost each crew is — so it’s no small matter that this vital collection is being performed at Dodger Stadium. That is additionally why securing the highest seed within the postseason issues to the Dodgers.
Can the Padres’ motivation overcome the Dodgers’ home-field benefit this week? It’s an enchanting subplot to observe this week, and maybe once more if the groups meet in October.
Picture Credit score: David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports activities
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