The Los Angeles Dodgers were projected as a heavy favorite in the National League West, both for a 162-game season and what ultimately became a shortened schedule because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Yet through the first two weeks of the 2020 season, the Dodgers have fallen behind the Colorado Rockies and jockeyed with the San Diego Padres for second place in the division. With an expanded 2020 postseason, finishing first or second in the NL West is advantageous.
L.A. has yet to face Colorado, and entering Wednesday are 2-3 against San Diego. “They’re an exciting team, there’s some good young players, they play with a lot of energy and passion,” Chris Taylor said before the Dodgers suffered a second consecutive loss to the Padres.
“We’ve had some really close games with them and it’s been competitive, back and forth series last time and then that game [Monday]. So it’s fun playing against them and it’s going to be a battle throughout the year I think.”
The Dodgers helped the Padres’ efforts by committing two throwing errors on sacrifice bunt attempts, which led to Manny Machado’s grand slam off Ross Stripling that proved to be the difference.
Like Taylor, Stripling has noticed a confidence and excitement about the Padres. “I would say I’ve noticed they have intensity coming from their dugout. I don’t necessarily know if it’s more than years prior,” he said. “I think they’re confident in their team.
“They took a good step forward this year, made some good trades in the offseason, and I think they feel confident. They don’t necessarily feel like they’re a lesser team with us. I think they feel like they compete with us and they’ve showed it.
“We’ve played them five times and it seems like every game has been a good one. They’re a confident young team, really good lineup, good bullpen, starters are good. They feel like they can compete with anyone, and that’s the energy they bring.”
Pollock, Roberts aware of Padres
After completing a tight series against the Padres last week, AJ Pollock and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts were among those to speak highly of their NL West counterparts.
“We’ve seen the Padres building for a couple years now. They’ve got a good squad over there,” Pollock said. “They’ve had a pretty solid lineup, they’ve added some pieces to that and it makes a lot of sense who’s in their lineup now.
“They have tough outs throughout the whole order and they added a couple good pieces to their rotation and bullpen. I think they’ve done a really good job. I think we’ll have some pretty tight battles with them moving forward.”
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