After going 3-3 on their road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium for a short homestand that only consists of three games against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers, at 87-55, have a magic number of just seven games to clinch their 10th National League West title in the last 11 seasons. The Padres, with a 67-77 record, have already been mathematically eliminated from winning the division.
The three-game series between the Dodgers and Padres is the last time they will face each other during the 2023 season. L.A. has won eight of 10 head-to-head meetings against San Diego this year.
Gavin Stone was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City with Wander Suero going on the 15-day injured list due to lower back tightness.
The initial expectation was Ryan Yarbrough would be put on the paternity list as the corresponding roster move. Although that didn’t transpire, Yarbrough is away from the team and effectively on paternity leave, which has the Dodgers playing a man short Monday night.
Stone is starting in place of Clayton Kershaw, who initially was pushed back one day to the series opener before the Dodgers decided on providing him with even more rest.
Stone is fresh off winning Pacific Coast League (PCL) Pitcher of the Week honors for August 28-September 3 after throwing six scoreless innings of one-hit ball against the Round Rock Express.
It was the 24-year-old’s first appearance since earning his first career Major League win in the Dodgers’ series finale against the Boston Red Sox. The right-hander allowed four runs in six-plus innings of work as the bulk pitcher and said after the game that pitching at Fenway Park fulfilled a childhood dream.
Stone owns a 7-4 record, 4.74 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 10.7 strikeouts per nine in 100.2 innings pitched across 21 games (19 starts) with OKC this season. He is 1-0 with a 10.50 ERA, 6.70 FIP and 2.28 WHIP in five appearances (three starts) with the Dodgers.
The Padres counter with Pedro Avila, who is coming off his best outing of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies. He allowed just two hits over 6.2 shutout innings, but issued six walks and collected just one strikeout.
Avila enters at 1-2 with a 2.19 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.35 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine in 37 innings pitched this season (10 games, four starts). He has posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts per nine in 7.2 innings against the Dodgers (two appearances).
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
DH: J.D. Martinez
RF: Jason Heyward
LF: Chris Taylor
CF: James Outman
SS: Miguel Rojas
Padres lineup
2B: Ha-Seong Kim
RF: Fernando Tatis Jr.
LF: Juan Soto
DH: Manny Machado
SS: Xander Bogaerts
1B: Jurickson Profar
C: Luis Campusano
3B: Matthew Batten
CF: Trent Grisham
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