Division-leading Padres take on Dodgers
After completing a three-game sweep with a 6-3 victory over the Pirates on Sunday, the division-leading Padres will welcome their NL West rivals the Dodgers on Tuesday, to kick off a critical three-game series at PETCO Park.
The Padres, who own the National League's best record at 58-39, will face the Dodgers (53-46) seven times over the next 10 days and both teams are well aware of the implications that the series' outcome may have on their future.
For the Padres, a potential solidification atop the NL West is what the ball club will be fighting for while the Dodgers have a golden opportunity to prove they are legitimate play-off contenders.
Although there is roughly two months of baseball left to be played, Dodgers Joe Torre stressed the magnitude of this showdown.
"I don't know if you downplay it," Torre said. "If I have to tell these players, when most of them get on the bus for San Diego on Monday, where they're going, we're certainly not ready to play."
"I know we're capable of more," said Torre of his team's recent inconsistent play. "I don't think there's a bad time to play [the Padres]. I think it's a time where we have to find out if we can respond to the challenge, and that's the only way I look at it right now."
At first glance, it appears as if the Dodgers have the Padres’ number, having won four games in the five meetings between the two clubs this season. It’s worth noting that the Dodgers also handed the Padres their only sweep of the season.
If the Dodgers are to produce an equally successful outing, they will surely need to increase their run production. Over their past 11 games, they have been ineffective, producing only 25 runs--a problem Torre was sure to address.
"We know they're going to pitch well," Torre said of the Padres, who boast Major League Baseball's lowest ERA (3.28). "It's all going to come down to how well we pitch and do other things. We haven't scored a lot of runs."
While that may be true, the Dodgers aren’t allowing other clubs to score as well, having allowed just nine runs, over their past five contests.
Los Angeles has also received solid pitching from Clayton Kershaw, including a scoreless eighth-inning from in Sunday's 1-0 victory over the Mets and right-hander Chad Billingsley will look to continue his solid performance.
The Padres will counter with right-hander Jon Garland, who has been in a slump in his past few starts. The 30-year-old veteran has gone 3-4 with a 5.47 ERA over his past nine starts, after opening the year with a 6-2 record and 2.15 ERA.
But the Padres are hopeful that Garland’s success against the Dodgers-- a 9-6 record with a 3.61 ERA—will get him back on track and might be the answer in defeating Los Angeles.
Right-hander Mat Latos, 22, will also be called upon at some point in the series. Latos became the 14th Padres pitcher in the franchise’s history to win 10 games before the All-Star break. He was later put on the 15-day disabled list at the start of the second half with a strained left side muscle. But he’s back in the rotation and picked up his 11th win of the season on Sunday.
Despite all the buildup surrounding the series, Padres manager Bud Black tries to maintain a day-by-day approach.
"We don't think too far ahead," Black said. "We like to keep in the present. We know that every series, no matter who we play is important. We think [that mentality] is good for this group of players.
"That's when we play our best -- when we think about today."
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