The newly-improved San Diego Padres take their act to Dodger Stadium on Friday night to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a showdown between the top two teams in the National League Central division.
Los Angeles is currently 70-33 on the season and has the best record in Major League Baseball right now. On the division level, the Dodgers are 11.5 games ahead of the 60-46 Padres in the NL Central. San Diego currently occupies the second wild card spot in the National League and holds a 3.5 games lead over the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals in the playoff race.
San Diego and Los Angeles are both 4-0 in their last four games played but the Dodgers have the better L-10 games record at 7-3 against 6-4. The Padres are 30-24 on the road this season while the Dodgers are 35-15 at home this year.
The Padres won the last head-to-head meeting between these teams at 4-2 last July 3 at this same venue. However, the Dodgers still lead their season series 5-2.
San Diego vastly improved after the trade deadline by acquiring Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Josh Hader. With Fernando Tatis Jr. returning soon, San Diego is one of the most loaded teams in baseball. The Padres currently rank 13th in scoring with an average of 4.47 runs per game this season while hitting at .242 as a team. With their new acquisitions, the Padres are going to become one of the league’s most-feared lineups.
San Diego’s pitching has helped them get to this point with Tatis on the injury list. The Padres rank 8th in staff ERA at 3.81 and they are second overall with 59 quality starts. San Diego’s pitching staff also ranks 11th with an average of 8.21 strikeouts per game this season.
Opening for the Padres will be Sean Manea who is 6-5 with an ERA of 4.25 and a WHIP of 1.17 this season Manea has pitched in a total of 110.0 innings and has 111 strikeouts and 42 walks given up. The Padres are 3-3 in Manea’s last six starts.
The Dodgers entered August after a historic run in July. They have continued to roll as they have lost just once in their last nine games played heading to this series. Los Angeles lineup has one of the best 1-2-3 hitters in the league with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, and Freddie Freeman. They rank second in baseball with 5.3 runs per contest average and lead the league in OPS at .779.
Los Angeles also has the league’s best pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.28, the best in the majors. The Dodgers also rank second overall in opponent’s batting average at .218 and opponent’s OPS at 632.
Tony Gonsolin will start on top of the hill for the Dodgers on Friday. Gonsolin is 12-1 with an ERA of 2.41 and a WHIP of 0.90 in a total of 104.2 innings pitched. He has allowed only 11 home runs this season and has struck out a total of 96 hitters with 28 walks allowed. However, Gonsolin has allowed 12 total runs in his last 16 innings pitched so he could be vulnerable here.
The Padres are 24-56 in their last 80 games played against the Dodgers. San Diego is also 15-40 in their last 55 games played in Dodger Stadium.
The Padres are:
5-0 in their last 5 games played overall.
6-13 in their last 19 road games.
5-0 in their last 5 games on grass.
4-0 in their last 4 games versus the National League West division.
Padres are 5-0 in their last 5 games against a right-handed starter.
Padres are 5-0 in their last 5 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
Padres are 12-2 in their last 14 Friday games.
Padres are 6-1 in their last 7 Game 1s of a series.
Padres are 7-3 in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record.
Padres are 21-10 in their last 31 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15.
Padres are 20-42 in their last 62 games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
Padres are 20-42 in their last 62 road games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
Padres are 16-37 in their last 53 road games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
Padres are 3-9 in their last 12 road games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Padres are 6-20 in their last 26 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
The Dodgers are:
51-21 in their last 72 games played overall.
54-17 in their last 71 home games.
4-1 in their last 5 games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
44-13 in their last 57 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
45-14 in their last 59 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
74-24 in their last 98 home games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
47-16 in their last 63 versus the National League West division.
38-13 in their last 51 Games 1s of a series.
38-13 in their last 51 home games against a team with a winning record.
40-14 in their last 54 home games against a left-handed starter.
39-14 in their last 53 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
67-26 in their last 93 home games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
42-17 in their last 59 games opposite a left-handed starter.
37-16 in their last 53 Friday games.
51-23 in their last 74 against a team with a winning record.
77-36 in their last 113 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
44-21 in their last 65 games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
Sean Manea surrendered seven runs in 4.1 innings in his only appearance against the Dodgers this season. Manea has surrendered a total of 15 runs in 18 career innings pitched against Los Angeles. Meanwhile, L.A. starter Tony Gonsolin has historically pitched well against San Diego. Gonsolin has pitched in a total of 26 innings against the Padres and has posted a record of 3-0 with an ERA of 1.75.
No question the Padres are clicking right now. But the Dodgers are on a roll as well as they have lost just once in their last nine games played overall. Also, Los Angeles has won five of seven games against San Diego. I like the Dodgers to win this home game.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers
The total has gone under in five out of the last seven meetings between these two teams. The under is also 3-1 in the last four meetings between the Padres and Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
San Diego Padres over/under trends:
Over is 7-3-1 in the Padres’ last 11 overall.
Over is 3-0-1 in the Padres’ last 4 road games.
Over is 4-2 in the Padres’ last six games against the National League.
Over is 3-0-1 in the Padres’ last 4 road games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
Over is 4-1 in the Padres’ last 5 road games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
Over is 8-3-1 in the Padres’ last 12 Friday games.
Over is 7-3-1 in the Padres’ last 11 on grass.
Over is 7-3 in the Padres’ last 10 games against a right-handed starter.
Over is 7-3-1 in the Padres’ last 11 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
Under is 4-1 in the Padres’ last 5 games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
Under is 4-1 in the Padres’ last 5 road games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
Under is 4-1 in the Padres’ last 5 games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
Under is 6-2 in the Padres’ last eight games as betting underdogs.
Los Angeles Dodgers over/under trends:
Under is 14-6-4 in the Dodgers’ last 24 home games.
Under is 13-6-3 in the Dodgers’ last 22 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
Under is 33-16-4 in the Dodgers’ last 53 Game 1s of a series.
Under is 21-4-1 in the Dodgers’ last 26 Friday games.
Under is 5-1 in the Dodgers’ last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Under is 4-1-1 in the Dodgers’ last 6 home games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Under is 18-6-2 in the Dodgers’ last 26 games with the total set at 11.0 or higher.
Under is 10-4-2 in the Dodgers’ last 16 games versus a left-handed starter.
Under is 5-2-1 in the Dodgers’ last 8 home games against a left-handed starter.
Under is 17-7-3 in the Dodgers’ last 27 versus the National League West division.
Under is 7-3 in the Dodgers’ last 10 games played in August.
Under is 6-1 in the Dodgers’ last seven Friday games.
Over is 6-2 in the Dodgers’ last 8 home games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
Over is 19-7 in the Dodgers’ last 26 games with the total set at 6.5 or lower.
The Padres’ recent additions will make them a much-improved scoring team for the final two months of the season. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are second overall in runs scored this season and they’ve even gotten better with Gallo. This one should be a high-scoring affair.
San Diego has scored a total of 32 runs in their last five games played. They have seen the total go over 10+ runs in three out of their last four games played. Los Angeles has scored at least five runs seven times in their last 10 games played, including five games with seven or more runs scored.
With Manea owning a 7.0 ERA against Los Angeles, the Dodgers should be able to score more than enough runs to help the teams push the score over the total. Gonsolin meanwhile has had a solid season but recently, he hasn’t been as sharp, conceding three or more runs in four consecutive outings.
Prediction: Over 8.5
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