Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The Dodgers play an important series against the Padres this weekend. It seems like that just happened.
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Well, here we are again. The Dodgers vs. the Padres. Last time, the Padres had a one-game lead on the Dodgers. This time, the Dodgers have a one-game lead on the Padres after splitting the series against the Rockies, while the Padres won three of four against the Giants.
Last time, the games were at Dodger Stadium. This time, Petco Park. Expect Padres fans to be loud and waving towels in support of their team. How will the Dodgers respond?
These are also the final three times the teams play each other this regular season. The Dodgers are 8-2 against the Padres, so no matter what happens, the Dodgers will hold the tiebreaker if the two finish with the same record.
Watching the Dodgers sweep the Padres last weekend, then lose two to the lowly Rockies, brings up the question: How have the Dodgers fared against teams with winning and losing records this season? We did this just before the All-Star break, but let’s update it with a twist: How have the Padres done in those situations? Let’s look.
The Dodgers’ overall winning percentage is .570
Dodgers against winning teams (.500+)
29-28, .509
against losing teams
44-27, .620
How does that compare to the Padres?
The Padres’ overall winning percentage is .563
Padres against winning teams
33-34, .493
Padres against losing teams
39-22, .639
Last season, the Dodgers were 51-41 (.554) against winning teams and 47-23 (.671) against losing teams. They won 98 games. This season, they are on pace to win 92.
So, what is the schedule like the rest of the way for the two teams after this Sunday? Let’s take a look
Dodgers
against winning teams
vs. Cincinnati, 3
vs. Colorado, 3
vs. Philadelphia, 3
at Seattle, 3
against losing teams
vs. Arizona, 3
at Arizona, 3
at Pittsburgh, 3
at Baltimore, 3
at San Francisco, 3
vs. San Francisco, 4
Padres
against winning teams
at Seattle, 3
vs. Cincinnati, 3
at NY Mets, 3
vs. Milwaukee, 3
against losing teams
at Minnesota, 3
vs. Baltimore, 3
at Colorado, 3
vs. Colorado, 4
at Chicago White Sox, 3
vs. Arizona, 3
Both teams have 12 games left against teams that currently have a winning record and 19 against teams with a losing record. However, the Padres have 10 games left against the two worst teams in baseball, the Rockies and the White Sox. And the Dodgers have seven games with the Giants, who would love to play spoiler.
It’s going to be an interesting ride to the end of the season. Being a wild-card in the postseason is not fun, so the Dodgers need to avoid that.
That’s it?
You’ve gotten a lot of long newsletters the last couple of weeks, so we’ll keep this one short. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. A couple of things to clean up though: Buddy Kennedy was born in 1998, not 1988 (why do they put the 8 and 9 key right next to each other?). And Duke Snider hit 40+ homers in five consecutive seasons (because I can be dumb sometimes).
Up next
Friday: Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 3-1, 1.80 ERA) at San Diego (Yu Darvish, 2-3, 5.97 ERA), 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 1-1, 3.12 ERA) at San Diego (*Nestor Cortes, 0-1, 4.20 ERA), 5:40 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 10-8, 2.90 ERA) at San Diego (Nick Pivetta, 13-4, 2.81 ERA), 1:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
‘He looks much more confident.’ Hard-throwing Edgardo Henriquez settling in with Dodgers
Dave Roberts says Dodgers haven’t discussed moving Mookie Betts to right field
Shaikin: Can L.A. decide on the Dodger Stadium gondola, or anything, in a timely manner?
Doing away with traditional leagues could be in MLB’s not-too-distant future, Rob Manfred says
And finally
Andrew Toles hits a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.