The Los Angeles Dodgers cleared an important hurdle on Tuesday by officially clinching home-field advantage through the National League portion of the postseason with their 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
The club is now in position to come away with a series win against their NL West rival on Wednesday. More importantly, L.A. looks to keep up with a pair of American League behemoths in the standings with regards to MLB’s best overall record.
The Dodgers enter play with a 101-56 record, trailing the Houston Astros (103-54) and New York Yankees (102-56) by two games and a half-game, respectively. With five contests remaining in the regular season, every outcome will be crucial in determining potential home-field advantage for the World Series.
Ross Stripling makes his 15th start and 31st overall appearance of the season. He has compiled a 4-4 record, 3.32 ERA, 3.64 FIP and 1.13 WHIP with 85 strikeouts against 19 walks in 86.2 innings pitched.
Stripling has been lights out in the month of September, allowing just one run in 10 innings of work thus far (four games). He has struggled a bit against the Padres this season, yielding four runs in 6.1 innings pitched (three appearances).
The 29-year-old, however, as historically thrived when pitching at Petco Park. He owns a career 3-1 record, 0.59 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 15.1 innings (seven games, one start).
Wednesday figures to very well mark Stripling’s final start of the 2019 season, and perhaps his last appearance. He will shift to a permanent bullpen role in the postseason and is excited to contribute in any way possible.
The Padres counter with Dinelson Lamet, who looks to conclude his 2019 campaign on a strong note. He has allowed three or fewer runs in four consecutive starts — a span that dates back to Aug. 30.
During the stretch, the 27-year-old has strung together a 1-3 record with a solid 2.86 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 22 innings of work. He carries with him into Wednesday’s start an overall record of 3-5, a 3.84 ERA, 3.56 FIP and 1.24 WHIP in 68 innings pitched this season.
In his lone start against the Dodgers on July 4, Lamet allowed six baserunners and three runs across five innings while accumulating seven strikeouts.
Dodgers lineup:
RF: Joc Pederson
1B: Max Muncy
3B: Matt Beaty
CF: Cody Bellinger
SS: Corey Seager
2B: Gavin Lux
LF: Chris Taylor
C: Russell Martin
P: Ross Stripling
Padres lineup:
2B: Greg Garcia
CF: Manuel Margot
1B: Eric Hosmer
LF: Wil Myers
C: Francisco Mejia
RF: Josh Naylor
3B: Ty France
SS: Luis Urias
P: Dinelson Lamet
