After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their road trip with a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers, at 44-27, are second in the National League and second in the division, 1.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants. The Padres, who are third in the NL and NL west with a 42-32 record, cannot take second place this series as they are 3.5 games behind L.A.
This is the first meeting between the clubs since San Diego took three out of four at Dodger Stadium in late April. The Dodgers have a 3-4 record against the Padres so far this season.
Julio Urias takes the mound in the series opener and looks build off his last start where he went 5.2 innings and allowed two earned runs against the Philadelphia Phillies. Urias is 9-2 with a 3.54 ERA and 3.30 FIP this season to go along with a 9.64 strikeouts per nine innings and 1.39 walks per nine.
The Padres offense has struggled to hit left-handers, just like the Dodgers have, as they rank 21 of 30 with a 90 wRC+ against lefties and a .231/.310/.365 line.
Their offense has also struggled overall in the past month as they have batted .222/.299/.401 with a 95 wRC+ since the beginning of June and they come into the game with a record of 5-5 in their last 10 games, however, San Diego is on a four-game winning streak.
The Padres hand the ball to former Dodger Yu Darvish to try to slow down an offense that has scored 21 runs in the last three games.
Darvish needs to be ready for the challenge as L.A. has the second-best offense in baseball against right-handers with a .252/.352/.423 batting line and 119 wRC+. As one of the best pitchers in baseball, Darvish owns a 2.57 ERA and 3.26 FIP this season while striking out 10.39 per nine and walking 2.25 per nine.
Both teams rank in the top six in run differential, with L.A. at two with +103 and San Diego at six with +72.
The player to keep an eye on during the matchup is Fernando Tatis Jr., who has been lighting up baseball and carrying the Padres. If the Dodgers can hold him in check, they should have a successful series.
Tatis is hitting .285/.364/.675 this season with 22 home runs and a 173 wRC+. However, his health is somewhat of a concern as he had to leave Saturday’s game early after injuring his left shoulder.
Mookie Betts is back in the Dodgers lineup after receiving a day off in the series finale against the Diamondbacks.
Prior to the game the team recalled Zach Reks and optioned Edwin Uceta to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Reks starts in left field and bats eighth to make his MLB debut.
Dodgers lineup
CF: Mookie Betts
SS: Gavin Lux
3B: Justin Turner
C: Will Smith
1B: Matt Beaty
2B: Chris Taylor
RF: Zach McKinstry
LF: Zach Reks
P: Julio Urias
Padres lineup
LF: Tommy Pham
SS: Fernando Tatis Jr.
1B: Jake Cronenworth
3B: Manny Machado
RF: Wil Myers
CF: Trent Grisham
2B: Ha-Seong Kim
C: Victor Caratini
P: Yu Darvish
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