After a rough ending to their series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to get back on track as they begin a four-game series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
The good news for the Dodgers is that they send ace Clayton Kershaw to the mound, and he has dominated the Padres in his career. In 32 starts against them, Kershaw is 17-6 with a 1.96 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while striking out 222 hitters compared to 67 walks in 208.2 innings.
He has looked like his usual self since return from a back injury, posting a 2.45 ERA with eight strikeouts and zero walks in 11 innings in his last two starts.
Overall on the season, Kershaw is 2-4 with a 2.86 ERA, 3.07 FIP and 1.10 WHIP in 11 starts. In 63 innings, he has punched out 65 hitters while walking 12. With the All-Star Game just a week away, this will mark the first time since 2010 that Kershaw will not be there.
In addition to having Kershaw on the mound, the Dodgers have a new but familiar face in center field as Andrew Toles was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City in the wake of Yasiel Puig’s injury and makes his season debut.
Toles was having a very strong season with Oklahoma City, hitting .326/.363/.500 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 34 games. He missed some time with a hamstring injury.
In his first game back, Toles will be facing Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo, who is 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA, 4.04 FIP and 2.19 WHIP in five starts. He has spent most of the season with Triple-A El Paso, where he went 6-2 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 11 starts.
He faced the Dodgers earlier this season on April 18 and got lit up for 10 hits and nine runs (seven earned) in three innings, which caused his demotion.
Kershaw looks to slow down Padres outfielder Wil Myers, who is coming off a very strong series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In four games, Myers went 6-for-14 (.429 batting average) with four home runs, seven RBI and three walks. Three of those home runs came in the same game.
Kershaw also faces his former catcher and good friend A.J. Ellis for the first time. Ellis caught Kershaw 118 times while he was with the Dodgers.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
2B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
RF: Matt Kemp
C: Yasmani Grandal
SS: Chris Taylor
CF: Andrew Toles
P: Clayton Kershaw
Padres lineup:
CF: Manuel Margot
LF: Wil Myers
RF: Hunter Renfroe
1B: Eric Hosmer
3B: Christian Villanueva
2B: Jose Pirela
SS: Freddy Galvis
C: A.J. Ellis
P: Luis Perdomo
