Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their eight-game road trip, this time heading back west to face the red-hot San Diego Padres in a National League West showdown.
The Dodgers, despite dropping two games and losing a series to the Houston Astros over the weekend, have been playing great baseball since the start of the second half. They have won seven of their last ten games.
The Padres are 11-9 in July and have also won seven of their last ten games, but they are still trailing the Dodgers by six and a half games entering today.
This will be the Dodgers’ and Padres’ second-to-last meeting of the regular season until they meet for a four-game series at Dodgers Stadium in late September. So far, the Padres have had the upper hand, winning five of the eight games played against Los Angeles.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Tyler Glasnow (8-6, 3.47 ERA) vs Matt Waldron (6-9, 3.64 ERA)
Game Two: Clayton Kershaw (LHP) (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs Dylan Cease (10-8, 3.50 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 6:40 PM PT, SNLA, San Diego Padres TV, MLB Network (out-of-market-only)
Game Two: 5:40 PM PT, SNLA, San Diego Padres TV
Who’s in & who’s out?
As stated in the last series preview with the Houston Astros, the Dodgers have suffered numerous injuries since the start of the second half, with Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor both on the 10-day injured list.
Focusing on Rojas for a second and the two recent trades bringing in Tommy Edman and Amed Rosario, along with the signing of Nick Ahmed, it does not sound like the flexor strain injury will be healed anytime soon.
Clayton Kershaw returned from the injured list last week and pitched four innings against the San Francisco Giants. He will get his first look at the San Diego Padres this week, and Tyler Glasnow will also make his second start since being activated off the 15-day injured list.
Right-handed relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol, who is close to a return, will not be activated this series, but the next series against the Oakland A’s could be a real possibility.
Tommy Edman, who was acquired by trade yesterday, will remain on the 60-day injured list until his rehab assignment is complete. Before the all-star break, Edman was shut down with soreness due to a sprained ankle.
Right-handed relief pitcher Michael Kopech should be with the team in San Diego, as will utilityman Amed Rosario, who was traded on the Dodgers off day yesterday.
As for the San Diego Padres have also been active in the trade market, pulling off a trade for right-handed relief pitcher Jason Adam in front of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday and will be active for this series. On July 27th, the Padres also recalled right-handed pitcher Alek Jacob from Triple-A El Paso, who will be another arm for the Padres to use.
Despite the Padres’ recent success, they are still without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. due to a right femoral stress reaction. Because the injury has not fully healed, Padres manager Mike Shildt cannot put a firm date on a possible return.
Left-handed pitcher Wandy Peralta is also still shelved and won’t return until mid-August due to a left adductor strain that the lefty suffered on July 9th in a game against the Seattle Mariners.
Today is the trade deadline, and both teams are expected to be active in the closing hours. This could change the outlook for game two but should not impact this series.
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