Once the San Diego Padres eliminated the Atlanta Braves to punch their ticket for a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, it was widely billed as the two best teams in baseball going head-to-head.
Conventional wisdom held the winner of the Padres-Dodgers would go on to be crowned the World Series champion. That of course came to fruition, though not without the Dodgers first needing to stave off elimination after falling into a 2-1 deficit in the NLDS for a third consecutive year.
Dodgers pitching combined to hold the Padres scoreless over the final 24 innings of the NLDS, adding even more frustration to their NL West counterpart squandering a series lead.
With a new season on the horizon and despite plenty of uncertainty swirling around the organization, Manny Machado expressed confidence in the Padres’ ability to topple the Dodgers, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“Our division now is by far the best division in baseball,” Machado said. “Hands down. We’ve got four teams who could make the playoffs.
“The Dodgers are [bleeping] good, man. But we’re excited to take them down. There’s nothing better than having a championship team in your division that you can knock off.”
San Diego won eight of 13 head-to-head meetings against the Dodgers last season. However, their dominance during the regular season waned down the stretch as the Dodgers won two of three during the final week to clinch the NL West title.
Their first meeting this season is not until June 9, when a three-game series begins at Petco Park. The Padres then visit Dodger Stadium for a series from June 16-19.
Manny Machado upset Dave Roberts, Dodgers
Part of the emotional NLDS matchup last year included Machado throwing a baseball toward where Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was seated in the dugout.
That drew the ire of Jack Flaherty, who immediately shouted at Machado and the two exchanged words. Roberts later was critical of the All-Star third baseman, which prompted Padres manager Mike Shildt to defend Machado.
Shildt’s comments included veiled remarks about Roberts choosing to publicly criticize Machado over the matter.
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