A highly anticipated National League West showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres got underway Monday at Petco Park.
In what was a pitchers’ duel early on between Clayton Kershaw and Dinelson Lamet, the Padres ultimately rallied late to secure their eighth consecutive win. The victory pulled them to within 1.5 games of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West standings.
Looking ahead to the rest of the series, L.A. sends Tony Gonsolin to the mound on Tuesday for his sixth start of the season. The expectation is that he’ll be followed by Dustin May in Wednesday’s finale.
“Everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve heard, talking to Dustin himself, we have every confidence he’ll make that start on Wednesday,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
If May indeed gets the nod, it will mark his first start since taking a comebacker off his left foot last Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He lasted just one inning before being removed.
After an X-ray was inconclusive, May underwent additional testing on his foot, with a CT scan coming back negative. “There was no fracture. Right now, it just seems like a contusion,” Roberts said last week.
“Now it’s more of seeing where he’s at as he’s getting treatment and moving around. It’s sort of a day-to-day thing.”
May was considered day-to-day and quickly reported improvement.
In nine games this season, May is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA, 4.52 FIP and 1.13 WHIP over 41.2 innings pitched. He has found success against the Padres, limiting them to a combined four runs in two previous starts.
Roberts: Dodgers stand to benefit from tight NL West race
With the Padres closing the gap on the Dodgers in the NL West, Roberts believes the added pressure will only help his club in the long run.
“Any time you can play meaningful baseball in the regular season, that’s a good thing. Look back the last four years, we haven’t really had to go down to the wire to win the division,” he said before the Dodgers dropped the series opener at Petco Park.
“I would expect this series and even the series in Colorado, these are big series. I just want us — and we all say it — to play our best baseball as we get into the postseason.”
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