The San Diego Padres will open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night in a big test for the second-place club against the West’s top team.
The Padres (61-47, 2nd NL West) acquired one of the best generational talents in outfielder Juan Soto, along with Josh Bell, Brandon Drury and Josh Hader at the trade deadline this past Monday and Tuesday.
They exploded for nine runs in the first game with the three position players that saw Drury cap a five-run first inning with a first-pitch grand slam. Since the all-star break, the Padres are 9-5 and own a +17 run differential, the fourth-best mark in the majors in the second half.
Still, the Padres have to prove that they can stand up to the best in the league. The Dodgers are the only team left in San Diego’s schedule that have a better record than them. LA has a 12½-game lead on the Padres with two months remaining in the schedule, and 12 head-to-head matchups between the top two teams in the N.L. West.
The Dodgers (72-33, 1st NL West) have won eight of their last nine games and own a league-best 12-2 record in the second half so far. They also lead the league in overall record and top the New York Mets by five games for the top-seed in the National League.
They enter the Friday night matchup winning five straight, including a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, who have matched their loss count from last year with 56 games to go.
Pitching Matchup
Left-hander Sean Manaea (6-5, 4.25 ERA) has struggled recently for San Diego, but is coming off a start where he gave up two earned runs in six innings against the first-place Minnesota Twins. This season, Manaea has gone six-plus innings in 15 of 19 starts and has given up three or fewer earned runs in 14 of those starts.
In one game this season, Manaea gave up six runs in 4 ⅓ innings against the Dodgers. He struck out five batters and walked three in that April 24 start. Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman and center fielder Cody Bellinger homered off Manaea in that game.
Right-hander Tony Gonsolin (12-1, 2.41 ERA) has also struggled as of late, posting a 6.75 ERA in his last three starts against the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies. In his most recent start against the Rockies, he gave up three earned runs in five innings pitched at Coors Field five days ago.
In Gonsolin’s only start against the Padres this season, he went 7 ⅓ innings, allowing one run and four hits while striking out eight. Jurickson Profar hit two doubles and Trent Grisham homered in that game off the all-star pitcher.
Starting Lineups
Weekend in LA. pic.twitter.com/zcDjxFj6rQ
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 5, 2022
Manny Machado gets a day off defensively as he’ll be the designated hitter, batting third behind Juan Soto as he did in the Wednesday game against a right-handed pitcher. In his career, Machado hits .313/.410/.522 (.933 OPS) in 18 games as the DH.
Soto will make his first appearance as a Padre at Dodger Stadium. Less than two weeks ago Soto played there as a National and got “future Dodger” chants by the same Dodgers fans who claim they never wanted him. He got just two hits in 11 at-bats, but hit a two-run triple off Dodgers’ starter Tony Gonsolin in the series opener as part of a 4-1 Nationals victory, giving Gonsolin his first and only loss of the season.
Trent Grisham, batting seventh at center field, and Ha-Seong Kim, batting ninth as the shortstop, each have a homer off Gonsolin in their careers. Grisham is 4-for-8 and Kim is 1-for-4.
Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Padres: pic.twitter.com/SBKIsTO0Au
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 5, 2022
Mookie Betts, leading off at right field, is 7-for-19 (.368) with two home runs in his career off Manaea. Betts is very familiar with Manaea, being a part of the Red Sox when Manaea no-hit them back in 2018.
Bellinger, batting ninth at center field, and Joey Gallo, sitting on the bench, each have two home runs in their career off Manaea.
Game information:
Date: Friday, August 5, 2022
Time: 7:10 p.m. PDT
Venue: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: Bally Sports San Diego, MLB TV (out-of-market only)
Listen: 97.3 The Fan