Dodgers at Padres
The Los Angeles Dodgers needed their ace to end a dispiriting three-game losing streak last time out and will try to build on that effort when they visit the San Diego Padres on Monday for the first of three contests. Clayton Kershaw struck out 12 in seven strong innings and finally got some offensive support as the Dodgers rolled to a 7-2 victory over Arizona on Sunday after giving up 33 runs in three straight defeats.
Los Angeles had scored a total of three runs in Kershaw’s first three starts before Chris Taylor registered a double, a homer and three RBIs on Sunday as the team won for just the third time in 10 games. Hyun-Jin Ryu tries to give the Dodgers back-to-back strong starts when he takes the mound while Robbie Erlin gets the start for the Padres, who have won three straight contests. San Diego outscored San Francisco 20-6 to win the final three contests of their four-game set and could have All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer back in the lineup after he sat out the last two games with lower-back tightness. Rookie third baseman Christian Villanueva has made quite an impression, leading the Padres with five homers and 11 RBIs after belting a solo shot and registering a two-run double in Sunday’s 10-1 triumph.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. Padres LH Robbie Erlin (0-1, 2.38)
Ryu dazzled in his start on Tuesday, striking out eight batters while allowing one hit and one walk over six scoreless innings for a 4-0 victory over Oakland. The 31-year-old South Korean was not nearly as efficient in his 2018 debut on April 2, when he yielded three runs on five hits and five walks over 3 2/3 innings at Arizona but avoided a loss. Ryu is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA in seven career starts versus San Diego.
Erlin is taking the spot of the suspended Luis Perdomo in the rotation after making five relief appearances this year, allowing three runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out nine over 11 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old Californian came into the season with 30 appearances in the majors and is 8-12 with a 4.49 ERA in 25 starts during his career. Erlin has made two starts and one relief outing against the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 1.17 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Diego OF Jose Pirela is 14-for-31 with five doubles and seven RBIs over his last seven games.
2. The Dodgers placed INF Logan Forsythe (shoulder) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled INF Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
3. Los Angeles took 13 of the 19 meetings in 2017 and has not lost a season series to the Padres since 2010.