Dodgers at Padres
Perhaps the only time through the first month-plus of the season the Los Angeles Dodgers have looked like the defending National League champions came during an explosive three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres. Coming off a strong finish to their last series, the Dodgers hope to continue their recent dominance of the Padres on Friday when the teams begin a three-game set in Monterrey, Mexico.
Los Angeles went 2-4-3 in series play during April, getting the first of its two series wins when it outscored the Padres 30-10 from April 16-18 in San Diego. The Dodgers, who went 1-7 during an eight-game stretch shortly after the sweep, have looked a bit more like a team that has won the NL West five years in a row over the last couple of days, defeating division-leading Arizona in the final two contests of a four-game set that ended the Diamondbacks' streak of consecutive winning series at nine. The Padres enter this series having dropped 11 of their last 15, including losing two of three at San Francisco to begin the week. A pair of impressive rookie hurlers will take the mound in Major League Baseball's first foray into Mexico since 1999, as Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler will oppose San Diego left-hander Joey Lucchesi.
TV: 9:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Padres LH Joey Lucchesi (3-1, 2.78)
Buehler has been limited to five innings in each of his first two career starts this season but has more than held his own in both, including Saturday in San Francisco when he earned the win after allowing two runs and striking out six. The Vanderbilt product settled for a no-decision five days earlier at home versus Miami after firing five scoreless frames. Buehler has yet to allow an extra-base hit in 2018 (10 singles) as he faces San Diego for the first time.
Lucchesi picked up the victory for the third time in his last four outings Saturday against the New York Mets, yielding two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six across 5 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old struggled to find a groove after only 43 of his 79 pitches went for strikes, but he still boasts 35 strikeouts versus 10 walks over 32 1/3 frames in 2018. Right-handers are hitting .216 versus Lucchesi, who is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts outside of Petco Park.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Diego will serve as the home team at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey for this series, the first of five regular-season series MLB plans to hold in Mexico over the next five seasons.
2. The Dodgers on Thursday learned LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu will be sidelined until at least the All-Star break with a severe groin strain, likely ensuring Buehler will remain in the rotation.
3. The Padres are 1-15 when scoring three or fewer runs and 10-6 when scoring four or more.