Dodgers @ Padres September 25, 2019: Stripling vs. Lamet

With a 6-3 win last night (and a 6-9 Braves loss), the Dodgers clinched home field advantage throughout the entire National League Playoffs. The only real attainable achievement left is the potential to clinch Homefield Advantage in a potential World Series. However, with only five games remaining the Dodgers trail the Yankees (102-56) by half a game and the Astros (103-54) by two games. The Padres’ Dinelson Lamet will take the mound against Ross Stripling, as both likely make their final appearances of the season.

	Dodgers			Padres
	7:10 p.m.			San Diego
RF	Pederson		2B	Garcia
1B	Muncy		CF	Margot
3B	Beaty		1B	Hosmer
CF	Bellinger		LF	Myers
SS	Seager		C	Mejia
2B	Lux		RF	Naylor
LF	Taylor		3B	France
C	Martin		SS	Urias
P	Stripling (R)		P	Lamet (R)

Matt Beaty will be making just his sixth start of the season at third base, as Justin Turner has the night off. A.J. Pollock and Will Smith will also take the evening off against the tough right-handed Lamet.

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Neither Stripling or Lamet have pitched enough innings to qualify, but here’s where they’d both rank among 129 pitchers that have thrown 100+ innings.

Lamet will be making his fourteenth and final start of 2019, looking to cap off what has been a great season for him. His shortened season is due to him not making his first appearance until July 5, after having Tommy John surgery in April of 2018. In his first start back, he allowed three runs on three hits while striking out 7 against the Dodgers. Over his last eight starts and 45 innings, Lamet has a 3.20 ERA, 3.24 FIP while striking out 65 batters for an incredibly high strikeout rate of 34.8%. That trails only Gerrit Cole, Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander and Lucas Giolito over that stretch. He’s been equally tough against left and right-handed batters, so the Dodgers will have a tough matchup tonight. Luckily, there isn’t much on the line besides potential World Series home field advantage.

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While Stripling hasn’t been the All-Star he was last season, he’s still been an excellent part of the rotation and bullpen this year.

Stripling has started five of his last seven appearances, totaling 25 innings. Over that stretch he has a 2.16 ERA and a 2.94 FIP with a 0.80 WHIP. He’s also struck out 23 batters while walking none which is promising because when he’s pitching well, his control is his one of his main strengths. He’ll look to continue his recent run of form as the team heads towards the postseason.

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#Dodgers Dave Roberts says now Joe Kelly will throw a bullpen Friday. Won’t pitch in a game before Saturday more likely Sunday

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 26, 2019

Joe Kelly being healthy would be nice, considering the bullpen was already shaky before losing him. So long as he gets right before the playoffs, everything should be fine.

"That’s why I signed here. I wanted to be a part of this."

After a difficult start, A.J. Pollock is healthy and productive for the Dodgers, even while adjusting to a new position. @pedromoura talked to Pollock about coming back strong from injury.https://t.co/IQqpkWoFdx

— The Athletic L.A. (@TheAthleticLA) September 25, 2019

If you have a subscription to The Athletic, this is a great read on Pollock.

Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren is thought to be a managerial candidate for #SFGiants. Geren, formerly crosstown A’s manager, has strong ties to Giants baseball prez Farhan Zaidi from LA/Oak. Geren has somewhat lesser links to Mets (coach there) and SD (top HS player there) too

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 25, 2019

Meanwhile, it’s entirely possible that Bob Geren will leave the club after the season, but that’s a scenario to worry about later down the road.

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First pitch is at 7:10 PT on SNLA.