Photo Credit: Los Angeles Dodgers
With the San Diego Padres advancing to the National League Division Series to face Dodgers, these two teams will once again go head-to-head for the final time this year. In the regular season, the Dodgers bested the Padres winning six out of the 10 times they played each other. Although the NLDS will be played on neutral ground in Arlington, Texas, the competition will be no less intense.
Before this year, the last time the Padres were in the postseason was 2006. With the previous 13 seasons having been a string of disappointments for them, San Diego is finally hitting their stride in 2020. They have a young and exciting core of players that seem to love the spotlight.
The Dodgers are a different story. They are team with high expectations as they’ve won the NL West Division eight years in a row and went to the World Series twice in that span. So Los Angeles has a lot more to lose and however this match-up goes, the team and fans would love nothing more than to steamroll San Diego en route to the NLCS and eventually the World Series.
The Dodgers have an incredible lineup, spearheaded by their leadoff man and MVP-candidate, Mookie Betts. So far this postseason, he has a slash line of .429/.500/.857 with an OPS of 1.357, three doubles and three RBI. That’s what we expected from a guy like Betts. What was surprising in the Milwaukee Brewers series was the play of catcher Austin Barnes. He came up clutch in Game Two going 2-for-3, with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, which proved to be the difference in the game. Last but not least, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Corey Seager’s huge home run that provided a much-needed insurance run in Game One’s victory.
Rough 'em up. pic.twitter.com/HUVzCchFEW
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 2, 2020
Other than who I mentioned above, the rest of the offense needs to rise to the occasion in the NLDS. In the Brewers series, the Dodgers 3-4-5 hitters (Justin Turner, Max Muncy & Will Smith) were a combined 0-for-19. In addition to Turner, Muncy and Smith, we’re going to need to see some more production from AJ Pollock and Cody Bellinger.
The Dodgers’ bats could be tested as Padres manager Jayce Tingler said there’s a possibility starters Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger could pitch in the NLDS, although nothing official has been announced. Lamet and Clevinger weren’t on the Wild Card Series roster due to injuries. The Padres acquired Clevinger in a deal with the Cleveland Indians, in a flurry of aggressive moves at the trade deadline. The Dodgers have never faced Clevinger, which could be worrisome given how streaky the Dodgers’ lineup can be at times. Lamet was a nice surprise for the Padres with an outstanding regular season. In his last outing vs. the Dodgers on September 14, he held Los Angeles to just one earned run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts. If the Dodgers can somehow figure out these two starters, then the path to victory should be a smooth ride.
While the Dodgers as a franchise have never faced Clevinger, Betts (as a member of the Red Sox) has. The Dodgers’ right fielder has owned the former-Indians pitcher, hitting .571 (4-for-7) with four RBI and one triple over his career. Hopefully, Betts can rekindle his success against Clevinger and leads the charge offensively in this series.
The Padres’ rotation may remain a secret until the teams play Game One on Tuesday, but San Diego’s “bread and butter” is their stacked offense. The Padres have an exceptional lineup that features former Dodger Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, Wil Myers, rookie-sensation Jake Cronenworth, and, of course, another MVP-candidate in Fernando Tatis Jr. Combined, these sluggers were 18-for-57 (.315) with five home runs in the Wild Card series. That’s not fun to face in any postseason series, especially in a short five-game set. Hitting is contagious in this Padres’ lineup so when a couple of guys get going, the rest seem to follow.
The Dodgers’ rotation and bullpen have been stellar so far this postseason, but the Padres’ offense is an entirely different animal compared to the light-hitting Brewers. On Sunday, the Dodgers announced that Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw will get the nods for Games One and Two, respectively. Even though Buehler only went four innings vs. the Brewers, he looked sharp. Expect him to be backed up by Julio UrÃas once again. As for Kershaw, he was as good as he’s ever been vs. the Brewers striking out a postseason career-high 13 batters.
Game Three is more of a mystery at this point, but manager Dave Roberts can’t really go wrong by choosing either Tony Gonsolin or Dustin May. In Gonsolin’s final outing of the regular season, the Angels were able to get to him for four runs and seven hits in six innings of work, but that was good enough to pick up the win. Against the Padres on September 15, Gonsolin dominated. He pitched seven innings, only gave up one run on four hits to go along with a pair of strikeouts and the 3-1 victory.
Dustin May also shined against the Padres the last time he faced them. On September 16, he came out of the bullpen and went 5.1 innings and gave up one earned run on three hits while striking out six. The other two times May faced the Padres were impressive as well. In each start he went six innings, gave up two earned runs and struck out a combined ten batters.
Some fans might be a little upset that the Dodgers have to face the Padres (the second-best team in the National League) in a best-of-five Division Series round, but that’s the way the playoff seeding was designed. Instead of the Padres being properly seeded at number two, they are the seeded at number four because they finished second in the NL West. Make sense? Okay, cool.
Jacob Cisneros is a writer for Dodgers-LowDown. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @_JacobCisneros.Â
Edited by Jake Reiner. He is a writer and reporter for Dodgers-LowDown and co-host of The Incline Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @QualityJakes.Â