Dodgers vs Padres Prediction
Dodgers vs Padres Prediction: On Tuesday night, the Dodgers and Padres will continue what has been the most intense rivalry of this season in the second game of their series. Last night they met for Game 1 of this series in which the Padres managed to win 6-2 behind a three-run homer from Manny Machado
This rivalry is a continuation from NLDS last year in which the Dodgers swept the Padres on their way to winning the World Series. Despite being swept, the Padres showed they would be a team to deal with in the future.
And that has been proven so far this year.
Even prior to last night’s tilt, the Dodgers vs. Padres has been must-see baseball this season. The Dodgers won the first three-game series at Petco Park in San Diego but would be bested by the Padres who would take three of four from the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium.
The Padres have come into this series on a rollercoaster run. They had lost eight of their last ten games before sweeping the Reds in a four-game series this past weekend and winning the game last night.
The Dodgers had won three in a row before Monday night, despite dealing with injuries to some of their biggest names. However, those three wins were against the Diamondbacks, so take what you want from that.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger have the potential to return to the lineup in Tuesday night’s game which would be a huge addition for LA.
No one in the Dodgers lineup creates more scoring opportunities than Muncy, which is evidenced by his 18.9% walk rate. Not having him again for Tuesday night’s affair will certainly be a blow for the Dodgers but also a relief for Blake Snell who is slated to start for the Padres.
Still, on the topic of injuries, Cory Seager is still out for the time being after fracturing his right hand earlier in the season. The Dodgers are expecting him to return in mid-July.
The Padres have been relatively clean lately on the injury front. Fernando Tatis is expected to play after suffering a left shoulder injury over the weekend.
Key Players and Factors
We are strapped in for an interesting pitching matchup Tuesday night between Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers and Blake Snell for the Padres.
Snell’s numbers are nothing to write home about as he still tries to find the form that led him to capture a Cy Young award at age 25 in the 2018 season.
On the season, Snell holds a record of 2-3 with a 5.72 ERA. Snell is coming off an awful performance in his last start where he allowed 7 earned runs in 3 innings in an 8-7 Padres loss to the Rockies.
Opposite of him is fellow Cy Young winner (3 times to be exact) and MVP Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has pitched 88 ⅓ innings this season on his way to an 8-6 record and a 3.36 ERA.
Like Snell, he lost his last start against the Phillies, however, he only allowed two earned runs over 6 innings of work.
If the Dodgers can return their key players such as Muncy and Bellinger to the lineup, this will shape up to be a completely different game. Muncy’s production has been key for the Dodgers this season. He is slashing a line of .264/.418/.528.
Bellinger would also bring some offensive firepower. Bellinger has missed much of this season after being sidelined with a hairline fracture in his left fibula.
He returned to the lineup briefly before being put on the injured list again with left hamstring soreness. His limited action this season has seen him hit .226 on the season with 1 home run and 10 RBIs in 62 at-bats.
While those numbers don’t jump off the page, returning a former Rookie of the Year and NL MVP certainly doesn’t hurt the Dodgers.
For the Padres, it is all about Fernando Tatis Jr. He is on his way to what could be his first Most Valuable Player award with 22 home runs and 50 RBIs on the season. That puts him at third in the entire MLB in home runs behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani who both have 23.
He is backed up by Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer in the Padres lineup who have both turned out solid seasons.
Prediction
With the Dodgers having Clayton Kershaw on the mound, and the potential for the return of Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger, I like them to take this one on the road.
Snell has also been very weak this season, and the Dodgers bats will be able to pounce on him early.
Final pick: Dodgers ML (-133)
