The San Diego Padres came to Los Angeles this weekend hoping to make a point against the Dodgers with their new Juan Soto/Josh Bell-bolstered lineup.
Now it’s Sunday and the Padres are hoping to avoid being swept in a three-game series.
The Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games with an 8-3 triumph on Saturday night. That game followed an 8-1 Dodgers victory in the opener on Friday. Los Angeles has 13 runs against Padres starters Sean Manaea and Mike Clevinger in the series.
The Padres trailed early in the first two games.
“The great thing about baseball — you have no choice, you have to move on,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “We got behind pretty quickly. And you’re fighting to try to get it back against a good Dodger bullpen. And it just didn’t happen for us.”
The Dodgers are causing another problem for the Padres, who reside behind Atlanta in the race for the first wild-card spot in the National League.
“Every game is important,” Melvin said.
Even the consolation game of a lost series.
The Dodgers are 14-3 since the All-Star break. They are 7-2 this season against their wannabe Southern California rivals and 19-9 against the Padres since the start of the 2021 season. The Dodgers have won 16 of their last 18 games against the Padres.
On Sunday night, the Dodgers-Padres series gets national television attention. Right-hander Yu Darvish (10-4, 3.30 ERA) will start for the Padres against Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson (12-1, 2.89).
While Anderson was selected to the National League All-Star team, he didn’t pitch in the game.
Anderson will make his 21st appearance and 19th start of the year. He has a 1.03 WHIP and a .226 opponents’ batting average. In 115 1/3 innings this season, Anderson has allowed 39 runs (37 earned) on 96 hits and 23 walks with 94 strikeouts.
“He’s been good for quite some time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said of Anderson. “He’s very efficient. He’s good pitching with leads; he doesn’t nibble. Tyler has solid fastball command. He’s such a pro. He’s always prepared. And he’s a great competitor.”
Anderson will make his third start against the Padres this season. He is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA after giving up three runs on 10 hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts in 11 innings.
Overall, Anderson owns a 5-3 record with a 2.53 ERA in 13 career appearances (12 starts) vs. San Diego.
This also will be Darvish’s third start against the Dodgers in 2022. He is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA after surrendering five runs on nine hits — including three homers — and three walks with 17 strikeouts in 12 innings.
Darvish is 2-4 with a 2.76 ERA in eight career starts vs. the Dodgers.
–Field Level Media