Padres vs. Dodgers series preview
Credit: MLB
The San Diego Padres have stumbled out of the gate to start the 2021 season.
San Diego began the season with the third-highest odds to win the World Series. After an offseason of blockbuster trades, the expectations are high.
Through the first few weeks, the Padres have started with a 10-10 record, and the past week hasn’t been pretty in Downtown San Diego. After the Padres won the series finale on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they then proceeded to get swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game set at Petco Park.
Not only did they get swept, but the bad news just kept coming for this squad.
Adrian Morejon underwent Tommy John surgery, and Dinelson Lamet made his much-anticipated debut only to be pulled after two innings with an injury. Unfortunately, the bad news keeps piling up for the Padres. Lamet will be evaluated in the coming days.
Next up: the Dodgers, again. This time it will be a four-game set in Los Angeles.
Padres-Dodgers Four-Game Set in LA
The Padres listed pitchers will be Ryan Weathers, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove in that order to face the Boys in Blue.
For the Dodgers, they will trot out Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, and Dustin May in that order. These pitching matchups will be nearly identical to the past week, except for the two starters on the fourth game of the series.
The Dodgers lost game one against the Seattle Mariners before winning a 1-0 pitcher’s duel on Tuesday. Their reward was a day off, something that this Padres’ team is longing for at this point in the season.
The Padres are in the midst of a grueling 17-game stretch that will end after Sunday’s finale in Los Angeles, when they will finally get a much-needed day off.
Truth be told, the Padres 17-game stretch can only be a tiny portion of the blame. This group scored a combined three runs in three games against the Brewers. On Wednesday, they had the bases loaded with no outs in the 8th and failed to score a run. That’s certainly frustrating for everybody involved.
“Not being able to cash in, that’s been the theme the last couple weeks or so,” manager Jayce Tingler said after Wednesday’s game. “Certainly frustrated with not being able to cash in.”
Padres star third baseman Manny Machado echoed Tingler’s frustration after Wednesday’s game, especially considering the rough ending of the contest. Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked a two-out double, and Machado walked as Eric Hosmer struck out swinging to end the game.
“We’re having those opportunities; we’re just missing them,” Machado said. “Those things we’ll turn around quickly.”
That’s an understatement and something the Padres need to address quickly. As for the Dodgers, they remain the top team in baseball with a 14-4 record.
The defending World Series Champions after 5th in the majors in batting average, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in runs, 5th in homers, and 3rd in slugging percentage. Their pitching is 2nd in ERA, just behind the Padres.
It’s safe to say that the Padres need to cash in on the opportunities and find a way to at least split the series against the Dodgers to go into their off day with a .500 mark.
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Either way, buckle up for another thrilling four-game set against two division rivals who have come to hate each other.
The first pitch is Thursday at 7:10 PM PST in Los Angeles.
Matthew Wadleigh, born in Oceanside and currently lives in Fresno. He lives with his wife and 2 dogs and is a sports enthusiast. Retired drummer and member of the Fresno State Marching Band. He has been a Padres fan since childhood and has suffered during the struggles just like everybody else.