Starting Monday night, one of the best rivalries in Major League Baseball will return. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will square off in Petco Park for a three-game set. The teams have dueled it out for first place in the National League West for most of the year. Both teams won on Sunday, giving the Dodgers a half-game lead over San Diego. One of them will leave the series alone atop the NL West, but who has the edge?
On The Mound
- Monday: Michael King (SD) v. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
- Tuesday: Griffin Canning (SD) v. Emmet Sheehan (LAD)
- Wednesday: Randy Vásquez (SD) v. Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Monday’s game proves to be the most viable pitcher’s duel of the three, with King and Yamamoto squaring off in a battle of the aces. The former boasts a 2.63 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his first nine starts. King’s been a verifiable ace for San Diego. On the other side, Yamamoto has looked a little rough lately (which is hard to say for a pitcher with a 3.60 ERA). He’s surrendered 11 runs in his last three games. Yamamoto, and the Dodgers, will be hoping for a rebound in tonight’s series opener.
Canning and Sheehan both had breakout 2025 campaigns, posting respective ERAs of 3.77 (16 starts) and 2.82 (12 starts). They’ve not been nearly as good this year, with 10.64 and 4.54 marks. Canning’s sample size is much smaller at three games. His debut was great (1 ER, 5.0 IP) but he’s been rough since then (12 ER, 6.0 IP). He’ll need to stave off a potent Los Angeles lineup to win game two.
Ohtani has been the best starting pitcher in all of MLB. He boasts a 0.82 ERA across 44 innings pitched. That means he won’t hit in the lineup for Los Angeles. Vásquez hasn’t been quite as good, but still owns a career-best 2.68 ERA. The two will face off in what San Diego hopes will be a pitcher’s duel. Vásquez will need to hold his own against the Dodgers lineup if the Friars are to win.
Starting Lineups
Both lineups have struggled immensely lately to produce runs. Both lineups broke out in a big way this weekend. The Dodgers swept the Los Angeles Angels, outscoring them 31-3, while San Diego swept the Seattle Mariners, outscoring them 17-7. It was a big breakout for two clubs that have underwhelmed offensively over the last few weeks.
That should make for a (hopefully) high-scoring series in the pitcher-friendly environs of Petco Park. The Padres won the last series in Petco Park, though the Friars were outscored 10-9 by Los Angeles.
Players To Watch For
There’s been some hot hitters lately for both sides. They’ll hope to continue that streak of success against their division rivals in this week’s series. Here’s a few on each side to look for:
Gavin Sheets
Sheets has had a remarkable stretch with the Padres. He broke out in 2025, slugging 19 home runs and finding his stride after mostly mediocre seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He leads the Friars with nine homers (four of which have come in his last five games!), and is on pace for 35 home runs. While that’s lofty, he could easily clear 20 for the first time in his young career.
Miguel Andujar
Andujar was signed for a measly $3 million towards the end of the offseason, figuring to platoon at the designated hitter spot and serve as valuable bench depth. He’s become so much more. The Padres’ best hitter has slashed .291/.313/.480 entering play on Monday. He’s had four RBIs in his last seven games and has come through in several huge moments for San Diego.
Shohei Ohtani
Just because he’s only hitting for two of the three games doesn’t mean he’s not going to produce. Although Ohtani’s been the best starting pitcher in the league, he has been below-average at the plate. That changed in a big way against Anaheim, with Ohtani going 6-for-13 with three walks across the weekend. If he can keep that rolling, it would be a major boost for the series and L.A.’s season.
Teoscar Hernández
Hernández had a similarly hot weekend after a subpar season at the plate thus far. He went 4-for-12 with one walk, one home run and five RBIs in the three game series. He continues to be a legitimate power threat at the plate but has actually batted more for average recently. Across his last seven games, he’s batted .407. That might look like just another hot streak, but he’s also batted .327 in his last 15 games. That reads more as quality contact than a random spurt.
Calls To The Bullpen
The Dodgers (somewhat shockingly) have a better bullpen ERA than the Padres do. They own a 3.06 ERA compared to San Diego’s 3.81 mark. That being said, the Friars have had to cover far more innings (205.1) than Los Angeles has (144.1). And ERA is not a particularly good indicator of which is better, but it is a helpful benchmark for run prevention.
The Padres have a swath of high-leverage relievers, headlined by closer Mason Miller, Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and rookie flamethrower Bradgley Rodriguez. Those guys got plenty of rest this weekend after San Diego starters managed to cover 16 innings against Seattle. The Dodgers will likely need to have a lead when the Friars’ starter exits if they hope to win the game.
Though newcomer Edwin Díaz will not pitch for Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, Tanner Scott has surprisingly filled the role of closer quite well. Scott boasts a 1.47 ERA on the year after an abysmal 2025 season. Behind him are Will Klein and Alex Vesia. Klein has cemented himself as a dominant reliever in just his second season with L.A. Veteran Blake Treinen has struggled but still owns a serviceable 3.68 ERA. Beyond those four, the Dodgers’ depth is thin, but hasn’t been nearly as bad at giving up games late as 2025’s group was.
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