Dodgers-Padres was supposed to be a season-long battle for the National League West title. Instead, it might be the matchup in the NL Wild Card Game on Oct. 6.
As the two teams open a three-game weekend series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, L.A. indeed has a battle on its hands to claim a ninth straight division title. But that challenge has come not from San Diego but from San Francisco, which leads its archrival by 2 1/2 games for the best record in the NL. The Padres, meanwhile, have fallen out of the division race and are just a game ahead of the Reds for the second NL Wild Card spot, which would yield a winner-take-all matchup with the Giants or Dodgers.
But there is still quite a bit of baseball to play before then, beginning with Friday night’s series opener, which fans can stream at 10:10 p.m. ET, as one of MLB.TV’s two Free Games of the Day, following Yankees-Mets at 7:10. (Blackout restrictions apply). Here is what you need to know about the matchup:
How they’re doing
Padres (74-65, 3rd in NL West)
Dodgers (88-53, 2nd in NL West)
The Dodgers have been playing terrific baseball, even if it hasn’t been enough to put the Giants in the rearview mirror. They were 23-6 from Aug. 7-Sept. 7, a stretch that included a three-game sweep at San Diego (Aug. 24-26), featuring a 16-inning marathon in the middle game. However, L.A. lost its last two games in St. Louis coming into this series, its first back-to-back defeats since July 29-30.
The Padres are still 7-6 against the Dodgers in 2021, with six games to go. (They also meet at Dodger Stadium from Sept. 28-30). But not much has come easily for the Friars. Since they led the division by 1 1/2 games through May 29, San Diego has gone 40-46, including 8-16 since Aug. 11.
No pitcher started more games his team has won this season than Urías (21, including six in a row). That’s a lot about how good the Dodgers are and also quite a bit about how good Urías is, allowing no more than two earned runs 19 times. When he faced the Padres on Aug. 24 at Petco Park, he surrendered only one hit in five innings.
The player to watch
Who’s more watchable than the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.? The 22-year-old’s career is off to a historic start, and while shoulder issues have cut into his playing time, he still might be the frontrunner for NL MVP honors. Through his most recent game (Wednesday against the Angels), Tatis led the NL in home runs (37), slugging (.628), and WAR for position players (5.8), per Baseball-Reference, and was second in park-adjusted OPS+ (172) to Bryce Harper.
It’s more than just the production, of course. In his young career, Tatis has played with joy and flair, making electric plays on the bases and in the field. And now he’s learning a new position on the fly, playing exclusively in right field and center field since his latest return to the lineup on Aug. 15. On Wednesday night, he recorded the Padres’ fastest outfield assist of the season, a 97 mph strike to the plate.
Don’t forget him
It seems as though it’s been a disappointing season for the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who’s been banged up and hasn’t looked at his best for long stretches. Betts himself has expressed frustration.
But it’s also true that most players would love to have this sort of season. Betts has still been well above average at the plate, with a .374 OBP and .499 slugging percentage, and he’s still capable of changing a game with his bat, legs, glove or arm.
Picture this
Manny Machado is a third baseman, but that’s a pretty simplistic way to look at it. This is modern, shift-heavy baseball, and Machado is a talented athlete. Put those things together, and you get the two-time Gold Glove Award winner making plays all over, including way down the right-field line. “It’s about getting 27 outs,” Machado said. “And if I can steal a couple back there, that’ll be good for the team.”
This graphic, which shows the landing spots of balls Machado has fielded for outs as a third baseman since the start of 2020, tells the story of Machado’s roaming defense.
Number of note
The Dodgers added a serious jolt to their lineup when they acquired Trea Turner — along with Max Scherzer — from the Nationals at the Trade Deadline. Statcast’s sprint speed measures how fast a player is traveling at his peak, and Turner’s 30.6 ft/sec average ranks just behind injured Yankees outfielder Tim Locastro (30.7 ft/sec) among more than 500 qualifiers. (The MLB average is 27 ft/sec, and 30-plus ft/sec is considered elite).
Another way to appreciate Turner is through Bolts, a Statcast term for an individual baserunning play in which the runner reaches that 30 ft/sec mark. Turner’s 108 Bolts this year, through Wednesday, were 47 more than any other player had to that point.
