The Los Angeles Dodgers begin the hunt for their second World Series victory of the decade against a foe they have become quite familiar with in these situations as of late with a matchup against the San Diego Padres.
This marks the third time in the past five seasons that the Dodgers and Padres have met in the National League Division Series.
So far the all-time record is split at one a piece, with the Dodgers claiming the first victory during their 2020 World Series Championship and the Padres winning the second in 2022. It is also the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive time facing a divisional opponent in the NLDS.
In 13 head-to-head meetings this year, it was the Padres who came away with eight wins, winning the season series against the Dodgers for the first time since 2010. However, the Dodgers won the final two games that mattered to win the National League West division as the regular season came to a close.
For the most part, the Padres still have their same core of players from the last time these two sides met in the 2022 NLDS. The same could be said about the Dodgers, with one glaring exception and that is the presence of Shohei Ohtani who just completed one of the best offensive seasons in MLB history.
The other difference is the aforementioned pitching staff, who is without the man who has been the face of the franchise for more than a decade in Clayton Kershaw, who is currently on the injured list while dealing with a foot injury.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the ball in Game 1, making his postseason debut after signing a record contract with the Dodgers in the offseason. It was originally scheduled to be Jack Flaherty, but the Dodgers decided to flip their rotation order.
Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 18 starts this season and missed nearly three months because of a right rotator cuff strain.
He made just four starts upon returning from the 60-day injured list in September and turned in his longest outing during that span of five innings against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 28, which also was his final start of the season. The right-hander threw 71 pitches at Coors Field.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts estimated Yamamoto will be capable of throwing 100 pitches in his postseason starts.
Dylan Cease will be on the mound for the Padres after a much improved 2024 campaign, but not quite to the same caliber as his excellent 2022 season. The first year Padre put together a 14-11 record, with a 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 224 strikeouts over 189.1 innings.
In four starts against the Dodgers, Cease is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.
Freddie Freeman (sprained right ankle) and Miguel Rojas (left adductor tear) are both in the starting lineup as expected. It remains to be seen how limited Freeman will be, but it is encouraging to have him in the lineup regardless.
Roberts noted that he has seen a ‘different level of intensity’ from his players heading into this series. The Dodgers are also changing their approach to replicating the intensity of a playoff game ahead of the NLDS.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
RF: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
LF: Teoscar Hernández
3B: Max Muncy
C: Will Smith
2B: Gavin Lux
CF: Tommy Edman
SS: Miguel Rojas
Padres lineup
DH: Luis Arraez
RF: Fernando Tatis Jr.
LF: Jurickson Profar
3B: Manny Machado
CF: Jackson Merrill
SS: Xander Bogaerts
2B: Jake Cronenworth
1B: Donovan Solano
C: Kyle Higashioka
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