Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a miraculous ninth inning comeback against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, the Dodgers (93-63) enter game 157 with a three game division lead over the San Diego Padres (90-66). With six games remaining and three of those against the Padres, the Dodgers can clinch their 11th National League West title in the last 12 seasons with a series win. They’d love to get the division wrapped up before heading to the notoriously funky Coors Field this weekend. These two teams most recently played a two-game series in San Diego in which the Padres swept the Dodgers convincingly. The pitching wasn’t sharp nor was the defense, and the bats were quiet as well. They were outscored 14-6 and it dropped their record against San Diego to 3-7 this year, thus the Padres own the tiebreaker should they tie. Landon Knack will open this series hoping to get his team a step closer to the division clinch, while simultaneously proving he belongs on the postseason roster. It’ll be tough to out-duel Michael King who has been excellent for the Padres, but this would be a great time to shine.
 |
 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| DH | Arraez (L) | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| RF | Tatis Jr. | RF | Betts |
| LF | Profar (S) | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| 3B | Machado | LF | T. Hernández |
| CF | Merrill (L) | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| SS | Bogaerts | C | Smith |
| 2B | Cronenworth (L) | CF | Edman (S) |
| 1B | Solano | 2B | Lux (L) |
| C | Higashioka | SS | Rojas |
| P | King (R) | P | Knack (R) |
Both teams run out the best lineups they can field at this moment. Ha-Seong Kim is likely out for the year with a shoulder injury, so besides that, both position player groups are quite healthy.
Here’s how the two offenses compare as a whole.
The Dodgers can out-hit any team now that their roster is healthy, it’s just to be determined if they can do so when it counts. The Padres also have a great offense, and it’s clear what they do well. They don’t strikeout, nor do they walk, the ball is going to be put in play at a higher frequency than any other team in baseball. It’s not “perfect” but it’s a very tough offense to play against, as the defense needs to be sharp.
——
Here’s how King and Knack compare.
King has been incredible for San Diego, particularly during their red-hot second half, with a 2.16 ERA over his last 13 starts, allowing two runs or fewer in 12 of those 13. His 3.04 ERA is fourth in the National League, and he has 198 strikeouts in 168.2 innings. He will get top-five Cy Young votes and deservedly so. His last outing against the Dodgers was fantastic, going seven scoreless innings allowing two hits while striking out eleven. Hopefully the offense doesn’t let that happen again.
Meanwhile, Knack looked great his last time out against Miami. Yes, it’s the Marlins, but good pitchers are supposed to dominate bad teams. He was coming off a stinker against the Braves where he allowed five runs in two innings, but he went five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just two hits allowed. He’s pitched into the sixth inning just once, so the team is likely happy with five good innings and anything after that is house money. He looked confident on the mound in Miami, and his velocity was up across the board. Stuff+ isn’t a perfect metric, but his fastball was at 150 in his last outing after averaging 116 on the year, with his slider at 133 up from his season average of 121. Maybe he’s just a five inning type where he relies on two pitches, but if he can stay in the zone and get into favorable counts, he’s got some upside as a third or fourth starter on the postseason roster. He’ll look to prove that tonight.
——
Unfortunate news but not entirely unexpected, Gavin Stone will be out for the year. Ben Casparius had a strong outing against the Rockies over the weekend and is optioned back down.
The big story here is the Dodgers calling up the flame throwing reliever, Edgardo Henriquez.
He doesn’t always throw a ton of strikes, but when he’s finding the zone he’s devastating.
——
Clayton Kershaw seems unlikely to pitch in a division series should they make it there. Hopefully he can return at some point and contribute in the postseason in some capacity.
——
First pitch is at 7:10 PT on SNLA and TBS.
