The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers meet Wednesday in game 2 of the MLB NLDS at Dodger Stadium. The San Diego Padres look to even up the series at 1-1. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The San Diego Padres just couldn’t find enough offense in their game 1 loss, as they struck out 10 times and were 0-4 with runners in scoring position. The Padres have now lost 8 straight games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Trent Grisham leads the Padres with 5 hits and 4 RBI, while Austin Nola and Manny Machado have combined for 9 hits and 6 RBI. Yu Darvish gets the ball, and he was 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA and 197 strikeouts this season. Darvish is 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA and 35 strikeouts in his postseason career.
The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped on the Padres early with 5 runs in the first 3 innings and watched their bullpen step up through 4 innings. The Dodgers have won 21 of their last 23 games when allowing 3 or fewer runs. Will Smith leads the Dodgers with 2 hits and 1 RBI, while Trea Turner and Gavin Lux have combined for 3 hits and 2 RBI. Clayton Kershaw gets the ball, and he was 12-3 with a 2.28 ERA and 137 strikeouts this season. Kershaw is 13-12 with a 4.19 ERA and 207 strikeouts in his postseason career.
The Padres are 5-2 in their last 7 during game 2 of a series and 4-2 in their last 6 road games. The Dodgers are 86-29 in their last 115 home games and 67-23 in their last 90 overall. over is 5-1 in Padres last 6 overall. The under is 4-0 in Dodgers last 4 overall. The Padres are 16-45 in the last 61 meetings in Los Angeles and 16-40 in the last 56 meetings.
Yu Darvish showed what he’s capable of in the wild card game against the Mets, and he’s had success against the Dodgers, holding current hitters to a .192 batting average with 65 strikeouts in 182 at bats. However, the Padres continue to stink up the joint against the Dodgers and the dominance is overwhelming. Clayton Kershaw has also improved in the postseason as of late, and he’s holding current Padres to a .180 batting average with 59 strikeouts in 200 at bats. Until the Padres show they can beat big brother, you have to keep backing the Dodgers. Of course, I lay the RL to shave down the price.