Padres at Dodgers
The San Diego Padres head north Friday on Interstate 5 to begin a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with both teams eager to get untracked. The Padres are 7-15 and riding a five-game losing streak while the Dodgers’ offense went silent during a four-game sweep by Miami and former manager Don Mattingly.
Second baseman Howie Kendrick is hitless in his last 13 at-bats and batting .135 for Los Angeles, which scored a total of eight runs while hitting .181 during the four-game series against the Marlins. Kendrick, who was limited by injuries in spring training and began the season on the disabled list, owns a .151 on-base percentage but has shown his versatility in the field by playing second base, left field and third base. The Padres have several regulars struggling at the plate, but first baseman Wil Myers is off to a solid start and brings a career-high 12-game hitting streak into the series opener. “I just feel that I have my approach at the plate,” Myers told MLB.com. “I’m seeing the ball well. I’m zoning them up. I’m not really chasing out of the zone, and that’s the biggest thing.”
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Cesar Vargas (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Alex Wood (1-2, 6.00)
Vargas impressed in his major league debut Saturday by holding St. Louis to one run and five hits over five-plus innings. “I thought he was really good. As he went deeper into the game he kind of settled in better and better for the fourth and fifth innings,” manager Andy Green told reporters. “Couldn't ask for more from him, coming up and doing that.” The 24-year-old, who began the year at Double-A San Antonio, spent the previous seven seasons in the New York Yankees minor league system.
Wood turned in another rough start Sunday as Colorado scored five runs in five innings against him before the Dodgers eventually won 12-10. The 25-year-old has allowed 26 hits and 11 walks over 21 innings while failing to get past the fifth inning in three of his first four outings. Matt Kemp is 4-for-6 with a home run against Wood, who is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against San Diego, including seven strong innings at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 2, 2015.
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles 2B Chase Utley is batting .311 (23-for-74) as a leadoff hitter this season.
2. The Padres have won 99 consecutive games when leading after eight innings, including six this season.
3. The Dodgers have scored a total of 21 first-inning runs in their first 23 games, which ranks third in the majors.