A second straight weekend three-pack with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres? Of course we are down. Now, in our best Don LaFontaine affect:
From the producers of that last series and a lot of other cool ones — spruced-up combat shot here — Shohei Ohtani … Fernando Tatís Jr. … with Blake Snell, Freddie Freeman and Manny Machado in … “Dodgers-Padres II: This Time It’s In San Diego.” Working title; consequential and all-out awesome matchup.
How to watch Dodgers at PadresViewing guide
Time (ET)TVStreamProbables
9:40 p.m., Fri.
MLB.TV (national)
SportsNet LA, Padres.TV
(local)
Blake Snell
Yu Darvish
8:40 p.m., Sat.
FS1, MLB.TV (national)
SportsNet LA, Padres.TV
(local)
Tyler Glasnow
Nestor Cortes
4:10 p.m., Sun.
MLB.TV (national)
SportsNet LA, Padres.TV
(local)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Nick Pivetta
*for national and San Diego markets
The visitors come in with a one-game lead in the NL West. Ohtani is expected to be available for the whole series; the two-way marvel missed Thursday’s win in Colorado after he was pelted by a line drive atop the mound. Los Angeles followed up its critical sweep of San Diego by splitting four games with the historically hapless Rockies. At least Freeman walloped a 451-foot cartoon sledgehammer shot in the finale:
With Thursday’s win, MLB’s reigning champion got back above .500 in road games. Yup, the stacked and starry Dodgers are just 32-31 outside of Chavez Ravine this year. Maybe it’s a motif for the sequel?
Friday’s probable starter does know the San Diego digs quite well. LHP Blake Snell (3-1, 1.80 ERA) posted a stellar 3.15 ERA in three brown-and-gold Padres seasons, and he carries a hellacious 12.4 K/9 rate across 43 career Petco Park starts. Saturday’s scheduled starter is right-hander Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.12 ERA), who allowed two runs and seven base runners in five frames last series. He punched out eight Padres in that 5-4 win, and he’s still one of the best strikeout pitchers in the sport. Fellow righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-8, 2.90 ERA) is set to take the bump Sunday. It’s his first time pitching in San Diego.
The Padres bounced back admirably after last weekend’s L.A. letdown. They won three of four against the San Francisco Giants, with back-to-back eight-run spots on Wednesday and Thursday. Tatís, ever the action star, has insisted on doing his own stunts:
Two of the team’s probables, Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes, have bloated 5+ ERAs heading into this massive series. San Diego will continue to rely on its talented bullpen and packed-out home-field advantage. Sunday’s expected starter, Nick Pivetta, is in the 99 percentile for fastball run value and the 97 percentile for breaking run value. He’s a clean 13-4 thus far, and his collection of six pitches includes a fluttering curve and buckling sweeper.
Most home runs in both jerseys
Steve Garvey, 272 (211 LAD, 61 SDP)
Adrián González, 262 (161 SDP, 101 LAD)
Matt Kemp, 249 (203 LAD, 46 SDP)
Updated NL West odds
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(Photo of Manny Machado and Will Smith: Harry How / Getty Images)