The Los Angeles Dodgers look to continue their dominance over the San Diego Padres as they have won 14 of their last 15 against their division rivals and now have a chance to sweep a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
With their previous three wins, the Dodgers have increased their lead in the National League West to 4.5 games, and now welcome Mookie Betts back to the lineup for the series finale. Betts had been on the IL since June 19, which was the result of a fractured right rib he sustained while colliding with Cody Bellinger on June 15.
Because the injured rib is in a spot that doesn’t move, the chances of injuring it further are slim, so at this point getting back on the field is “pretty much just pain tolerance,” Betts said. He also added the pain has significantly reduced since he first sustained the injury.
Betts remains in his leadoff spot of the Dodgers lineup, but with Trea Turner hitting behind him and Freddie Freeman moved down to third. Freeman and Turner had been batting second and third, respectively, before Betts’ injury.
Along with Betts, David Price, who was away from the team due to a family emergency, is also back.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s game features an exciting starting pitching matchup with a pair of talented southpaws at the opposite ends of their careers with a future Hall of Famer facing a talented rookie.
Clayton Kershaw takes the ball for L.A., looking to rebound from the worst start of his season when he gave up six runs in just four innings to the Colorado Rockies. However, despite the struggles in his last outing, Kershaw believed it offered a bit of a reality check.
The 32-year-old has still been fantastic overall this season. In 49 innings, he has pitched to a 2.94 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 25.9% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate.
The Padres counter with MacKenzie Gore, who is having a strong first season at the Major League level. Not too long ago, Gore was considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, but his stock significantly dropped after posting an ERA near six with a FIP to match while at Triple-A in 2021.
But this season, Gore has been showing why evaluators were so high on him. In 59.1 innings, the 23-year-old has posted an ERA of 3.34 to go along with a 3.32 FIP, 25.8% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate.
In the middle of June, he had a bit of a rough patch, allowing 14 runs in just 6.1 innings across two starts, but he rebounded to throw five scoreless in his last outing of the month. Aside from those two poor outings, Gore has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his other 10 appearances, and three runs in one.
The Dodgers are batting .252/.328/.432 with a .331 wOBA and 114 wRC+ this season while the Padres are hitting .241/.317/.377 with a .305 wOBA and 98 wRC+.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Trea Turner
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: Will Smith
2B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
CF: Trayce Thompson
C: Austin Barnes
LF: Gavin Lux
Padres lineup
LF: Jurickson Profar
3B: Manny Machado
2B: Jake Cronenworth
DH: Luke Voit
1B: Eric Hosmer
C: Jorge Alfaro
SS: Ha-Seong Kim
CF: Trent Grisham
RF: José Azocar
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