The Los Angeles Dodgers earned a hard-fought victory over the San Diego Padres in a 16-inning marathon and now are in position to complete a three-game sweep at Petco Park with another win on Thursday.
The series finale features an intriguing matchup between Max Scherzer and Yu Darvish, who previously faced off in July. Scherzer has been nothing short of spectacular since being traded to L.A. last month as he enters the contest with a perfect 3-0 record, 2.11 ERA, 2.18 FIP and 0.98 WHIP in four starts with the team.
Before he was traded to the Dodgers, Scherzer appeared to be on the verge of landing with the Padres.
“We were pretty engaged at that point. It definitely spooked me for a second, but I feel like things would’ve been playing out differently if that were the case,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of the initial reports that suggested the Padres were closing in on a trade for Scherzer.
“It definitely got my attention and my heart may have skipped a beat or two, but kind of quickly came back to where the conversations were, where it was trending and what was going on. That helped.”
Rather than toe the rubber for the Padres, Scherzer now looks to help the Dodgers separate themselves even more in the division and National League Wild Card picture.
In two starts against San Diego as a member of the Nationals this season, Scherzer owns a 4.22 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 15 strikeouts across 10.2 innings of work. He particularly struggled in his only start at Petco Park, giving up a season-high seven runs on five hits over 3.2 innings pitched.
Darvish was reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to first pitch. He had been sidelined the past week and a half with lower back tightness.
Darvish looks to give a boost to a Padres team that has gone 2-11 since Aug. 11 and trails the Cincinnati Reds by one game for the second National League Wild Card spot.
He has been nearly unhittable in three starts against the Dodgers this season, pitching to a 2-1 record, 1.35 ERA and 0.65 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 20 innings. In 23 overall starts this year, Darvish is 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA, 3.71 FIP and 1.03 WHIP over 131.1 innings pitched.
The Dodgers activated Mookie Betts off the IL and are optimistic he will avoid being sidelined by right hip inflammation moving forward. Darien Núñez was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, and Matt Beaty and Gavin Lux were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Trea Turner
SS: Corey Seager
RF: Mookie Betts
3B: Justin Turner
LF: AJ Pollock
CF: Cody Bellinger
1B: Billy McKinney
C: Austin Barnes
P: Max Scherzer
Padres lineup
RF: Fernando Tatis Jr.
SS: Jake Cronenworth
3B: Manny Machado
LF: Tommy Pham
CF: Trent Grisham
1B: Jurickson Profar
2B: Ha-Seong Kim
C: Victor Caratini
P: Yu Darvish
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