Due to the recent events of the last week, this Dodgers and Padres series figures to be one of the most anticipated ones throughout baseball.
The Dodgers will honor Vin Scully in a ceremony in Friday’s opener and wear a patch throughout the season in memory of Vin.
Then there are the moves the Padres made, trading for Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury, which has their fans quite excited. The Dodgers were one of the finalists for Soto, but the Nationals ended up cutting a deal with San Diego.
The last time the two sides met in early July, only a few games separated them in the standings. The Dodgers took three out of four games and narrowly missed a four-game sweep because of a Craig Kimbrel blown save.
Since then, the Dodgers went 21-5 in July. Los Angeles now owns the best record in baseball at 72-33 and lead the Padres by 12 ½ games. So, from that aspect, the Dodgers are still in a great position. However, for Padre fans, this year could be their best chance at a World Series in decades.
The Dodgers are 8-2 in their last ten games and have won five straight. San Diego is 7-3 in their previous ten games and took three out of four from the Rockies. The Dodgers and Padres are also slated to play nine times in September. From a baseball fan standpoint, it should be a fun series.
The star power through the two clubs is stacked. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Trea Turner for the Dodgers, and now Soto and Manny Machado are leading the charge for San Diego. From seven meetings this season, the Dodgers have taken five of those.
Pitching matchups have also been announced for the weekend series; the Dodgers are starting Tony Gonsolin in the opener and following with left-handers Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson. The Padres are countering with left-hander Sean Manaea and right-handers Mike Clevinger and Yu Darvish.
The Dodgers planned to carry a six-man rotation for part of August, but with Clayton Kershaw exiting his start early yesterday due to lower back pain, the team will go back to a traditional five-man crew.
Chris Taylor is expected back tonight after concluding a rehab assignment. He homered twice in a game during his rehab assignment.
After the Dodgers conclude their series with San Diego, they will face the A.L. Central-leading Minnesota Twins for a two-game series at home and then visit the Kansas City Royals. There are only about two months left in the season, as it’s gone by in a flash. Fans hope the Dodgers can stay healthy as that will be the main factor going into October.
The first pitch for Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Pacific.
Any idea if or when they plan to activate Rios? He looks good at OKC as reported. Gallo was such a surprise as the Dodgers have a very good left handed power bat coming back in Rios. Dodgers reportedly believe Gallo’s problems are mechanical and they can fix them. Does that mean Muncy’s are from injury?
Dodgers fix pitchers not hitters.
Alright Gallo started his Dodger career with a knock, first of many, I hope.