UPDATE (May 7, 11:10 a.m. PT): Sunday’s game was postponed, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will now play a split doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Weather permitting, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will begin the finale of their three-game set at Petco Park at 1:40 p.m. PT. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday playing the game was “unlikely,” because of the threat of rain.
Brandon McCarthy, who’s emerged as one of the pleasant surprises for the Dodgers this season, will make his sixth start of the year. McCarthy was initially scheduled to take the mound Saturday, but had the outing pushed back after tweaking his left shoulder earlier in the week.
Three of McCarthy’s five starts this season have come against the National League West, including his first outing of the year which was against the Padres. In that start, McCarthy allowed two runs on four hits, and had four strikeouts over six innings at Dodger Stadium.
During his 12-year career, McCarthy is 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in four starts at Petco Park. Overall this season, the right-hander enters 3-0, with a 3.10 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 131 ERA+ and 1.21 WHIP.
McCarthy is coming off his worst start this year, in which he allowed four runs on eight hits in just five innings.
One clear struggle for McCarthy this season has been his splits against right-handed and left-handed batters. Righties own just a .186/.286/.349 slashline, while lefties are hitting .286/.318/.365.
After dropping the first two games, the Padres attempt to salvage the series at Petco Park. Trevor Cahill lost his first two starts of the season, one of which was to the Dodgers in his 2017 debut, but has rebounded to earn wins two of his past three starts.
What’s more, Cahill is coming off a strong performance against the Colorado Rockies. He only allowed one unearned run on three hits, and had seven strikeouts in six innings. Cahill has 37 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched this season.
When he faced the Dodgers earlier this year, Cahill permitted three runs (two earned) and walked three in 5.2 innings. The right-hander is a lifetime 6-6 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 21 games (15 starts) against the Dodgers.
