After defeating the New York Mets in three out of four games, the Los Angeles Dodgers make their final trip of the season to Petco Park to face the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers have been the hottest team in baseball recently, going 9-1 in their last 10 and winning nine straight games before their loss on Sunday. With a record of 78-47, they sit 2.5 games behind the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants.
The Padres have had the opposite fate recently, going 2-8 in their last 10 and falling a game out of the second NL Wild Card spot to the surging Cincinnati Reds.
They still have a respectable 68-56 record, but 13 games out of first in the NL West and not even holding a playoff spot is a far cry from where the team was expected to be in the offseason.
For the scoreboard watchers, the Giants face the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.
The Dodgers hand the ball to Julio Urias, who has been activated off the 10-day injured list on the first day being eligible to return. He was sidelined last week and missed one start due to a left calf contusion.
In 139.2 innings pitched this season, Urías holds a 3.29 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 21.1 K-BB% and 3.1 WAR.
He has faced the Padres one other time this season, which came on June 21 where he went four innings and allowed six runs in a 6-2 Dodgers loss.
Against southpaws this season, the Padres are hitting .246/.327./.395 with a 97 wRC+. In August, the club is slashing .248/.317/.405 with a 97 wRC+.
The Padres counter with Pierce Johnson in what’s a bullpen game. The right-hander makes the first start of his career.
San Diego’s pitching staff has struggled to get outs in August, posting a 4.82 ERA and 4.11 FIP over the month, which led to the firing of their pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Against right-handers this season, the Dodgers are hitting .251.343/.431/ with a 113 wRC+. The offense has fared well in August, sparked by the addition of Trea Turner and getting Corey Seager healthy, as they have hit a combined .253/.336/.454 with a 115 wRC+ in the month.
For Turner, this is the first time with the Dodgers he will face the team that drafted and traded him. He was originally the Padres’ first-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft before they traded him to the Washington Nationals in 2015 as part of the Wil Myers deal.
In his career against the Padres, Turner is hitting .311/.374/.622 with three stolen bases and six home runs in 99 plate appearances.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Trea Turner
1B: Max Muncy
3B: Just Turner
C: Will Smith
SS: Corey Seager
RF: Chris Taylor
LF: AJ Pollock
CF: Cody Bellinger
P: Julio Urias
Padres lineup
LF: Tommy Pham
CF: Fernando Tatis Jr.
3B: Manny Machado
SS: Jake Cronenworth
C: Austin Nola
1B: Eric Hosmer
RF: Wil Myers
2B: Ha-Seong Kim
P: Pierce Johnson
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