The Dodgers continue to roll along and now catch an inconsistent Padres squad in San Diego to start the week.
Everything is going right for the Dodgers right now and most things are going wrong for the Padres.
The good news for the Padres is that after being swept 4-straight at home by the Giants, they managed to salvage their next series at Petco by taking two out of three from the Diamondbacks. The bad news is that in Sunday's finale, San Diego lost Chris Young, their best starter, when he left the game in the first inning with a strained muscle in his side. There is no word yet on how long Young will be lost, but these types of injuries can sometimes take a long time to heal, especially with a pitcher. Add Young's name to that of SS Khalil (just placed on the DL) and Clay Hensley (buttocks injury of unknown severity?) as key Padres players who have gone down in the past several days.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles just keeps rolling along. Tonight's starter, right-hander Chad Billingsley, is another in a long line of successes the Dodgers have had this season which has put them in position to win their second division pennant in three years. Billingsley appears to be getting stronger with each start, and adding this young star's name to a rotation that already includes Maddux, Penny, Lowe, and Hendrickson is a recipe for success.
The Dodgers are 14-2 in their last 16 night games, and 7-1 in their last 8 road games.
The Dodgers traveled to San Diego less than a month ago and were swept in a 3-game series. That left them 7½ games behind the division-leading Padres and prompted Peavy to say, "Today was a good win for the boys, coming in here and sweeping this team. That puts them in a bad position, 7½ out with two months to go."
However, things have changed drastically. Since that series, the Dodgers have won 19 of 22 games with the Padres losing 15 of 23.
The Dodgers are now four games ahead of the Padres and Diamondbacks, and seven games ahead of Colorado and San Francisco. LA figures to have an advantage on the mound this evening. Chan Ho Park has a 4.95 ERA and 1.715 WHIP his last three starts while leading the Padres to a 1-2 record. On the other hand, the Dodgers are a perfect 4-0 in Chad Billingsley's last four starts. During that stretch Billingsley has an awesome 1.13 ERA, allowing just three runs in 24 innings!
For the season, Billingsley has a solid 2.83 ERA on the road. Lets look for Billingsley to continue his strong pitching as the Dodgers grab tonight's series opener and strengthen their hold on the division.
The Padres look to cut into the Dodgers' lead in the NL West tonight in San Diego when West Coast rivals square off.
The Dodgers have incredibly gone 19-3 in their last 22 games, enabling them to open up a four-game lead on San Diego in the NL West. But we look for the Padres to cut into that lead here at home.
As hot as LA has been, it is easy to forget that the Pads led this division all year until last week, and San Diego is 8-1 in the last nine head-to-head meetings this season. Chan Ho Park has reeled off three consecutive quality starts, including a win over these Dodgers where he allowed three runs in six innings. Park is backed by a fine San Diego bullpen that is ranked fourth in the Major League in pen ERA.
Now Chad Billingsley has been amazing as of late, but the rookie still has a high 1.57 WHIP for the season. The main reason for this has been his control, as he actually has more walks allowed (48) than strikeouts (47)! This has resulted in some high pitch-counts this year, and the season has reached the point where youngsters like this that have never pitched this many innings in a season start hitting the proverbial brick wall.
The Padres swept a recent series at Dodger stadium back at the end of July. Billingsley has been sharp for the Dodgers while Park has held down LA this season. The under might be a safer play.
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Dodgers at Padres - Aug 21st
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