Cody Snavely
After a week of anticipation, we are finally here as the Los Angeles Dodgers kick off the 2023 National League Division Series against their National League West rival, the San Diego Padres.
It is the third time the two teams have met in the NLDS in five years, dating back to the 2020 COVID-shortened season, where the Dodgers took care of business, sweeping the Padres in three games.
Their second meeting is more painful as the Dodgers despite winning game one on the backs of Trea Turner and Julio Urías, the Dodgers would drop three straight games, losing to the Padres at a rainy Petco park, shocked that they wasted a historic 111-win season.
Coming into this one, both teams have been the best in the National League in the second half, and the rivalry couldn’t be higher as the Dodgers look determined to avenge that 2022 season and change the narrative of their postseason woes.
On the rubber
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA)vs Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.47 ERA)
Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be rookie right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who finished his season with a 7-2 record and a 3.00 ERA in ninety innings this season.
As we all know, Yamamoto missed nearly two full months after suffering a strained rotator cuff in July and returned to the Dodgers at the end of the season in September, making four starts and closing out his season against the Colorado Rockies, pitching five solid innings allowing two runs on four hits and racking up six strikeouts.
However, in two starts against the San Diego Padres this season, Yamamoto was less than stellar. To kick off his big league career in Seoul, Korea, the Friars teed off Yamamoto, who allowed five runs on five hits and lasted just one inning.
The only other meeting this season was a few weeks later, on April 12th, where the rookie still allowed three runs in five innings of work.
On the mound for the Padres will be right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease, who the Dodgers recently saw in the three-game series in the final full week of the regular season.
Cease had a respectable first season for the Friars, collecting fourteen wins and a 3.47 ERA in 189.1 innings pitched while also throwing the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history on July 25th against the Washington Nationals.
This is not the first rodeo for Cease in the postseason, as the righty appeared in two postseason games but has a 10.13 ERA in 2.2 innings of work. Cease last start against the Houston Astros in the ALDS during the 2021 postseason was especially bad, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings in a series the White Sox lost in four games.
In two starts against the Dodgers this season, Cease had one win and a 3.38 ERA but allowed three earned runs on September 25th in the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory.
Who to watch?
For the Dodgers, one player to watch is… you guessed it Shohei Ohtani. The two-way superstar is finally making his postseason debut, and when asked if he had any nerves coming into tonight’s game, he replied in English, “No.”
However, Ohtani has also hit righty Dylan Cease well in his career, going 4-for-15 with two homers and four RBIs in seventeen plate appearances, including this firecracker homerun hit in 2021.
For the Dodgers to be successful, they’ll need their stars to show up, and with Ohtani leading off the game, he can quickly make it a 1-0 ballgame (yes, I’m calling my shot).
As for the San Diego Padres, I’ll go with Fernando Tatís Jr., who in his career is slashing .313/.366/.626 with a .992 OPS, twelve home runs, and twenty-three RBIs at Dodgers Stadium.
Where to watch
The National League postseason will be exclusively broadcast on Fox Sports One (FS1) or Fox all the way up until the World Series.
Dodgers play-by-play broadcast announcer Joe Davis will join Atlanta Braves legend John Smoltz on the call, as this series will be broadcast by the primetime Fox baseball crew.
First pitch for game one is set for 5:38 PM PT at Chavez Ravine.
Betting Odds
According to Fox Sports Bet, the Dodgers are the favorite in this one, at -136, while the underdog Padres have +116 odds to win. Los Angeles is a 1.5-run favorite (at +156 odds). The total for the matchup has been listed at 7.5 runs.
As for the win probabilities, the Dodgers are favored at 54% compared to the San Diego Padres at 46%
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