The Dodgers get one last regular-season shot at home before the playoffs, and the stakes are tilted heavily toward San Diego.
After splitting the first two games of the series, Los Angeles is still one win away from locking up the second seed in the National League. The next time the Dodgers are back at home, they’ll likely be hosting the winner of the Wild Card series between the third- and sixth-place teams. For the Padres, this one carries a different kind of urgency: a win would clinch a playoff berth, even though they’re currently sitting in the fourth seed, one game ahead of the Phillies and Cubs.
The Dodgers’ path looks much cleaner. They head to the lowly Giants to close the season, so it would take a real collapse to keep them out of the Wild Card round.
San Diego’s margin is slimmer, though it’s still far from dire. The Padres finish with the Diamondbacks, and while a sweep isn’t especially likely, they’d clearly prefer to enter that series with their postseason spot already secured.
On the mound, the game also puts two pitchers in the spotlight who matter a great deal to where these teams end up. Nick Pivetta and Tyler Glasnow have both had injury-marred seasons, and together they’ve barely reached 20 starts.
Glasnow, though, has been built back up for a while now. Pivetta is still easing in, having not topped 80 pitches in any of his three outings since returning.
Thursday game info
In Other News...
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Ryan also gave Detroit a clean first impression on the field, making his Tigers debut with three scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals in his first Major League appearance in more than two years. For the Dodgers, the storyline is less about what he did in that outing and more about what his praise suggests about how the two clubs are viewed in the aftermath of the trade, even if the full reaction will have to wait. [Read more 🡒]
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Dave Roberts said Kim is expected to be with the team during the off week, and that his defense and base running could make him a postseason roster option. The question is whether the Dodgers will value those traits enough to carry him despite the lingering concern about his offensive consistency, especially with Kims 2026 production looking fairly similar whether he has been in the majors or minors. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Waste Golden Chance As Playoff Concern Keeps Growing
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers bullpen did enough to keep Tuesdays game within reach, but the offense never turned the pressure into damage in a 5-1 loss to the Padres. Los Angeles had chances scattered throughout the night and left 12 runners on base, finishing just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position as key bats never found a groove.
Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman were among the regulars who struggled to cash in on those openings, and even Shohei Ohtanis return offered only a modest spark with a 1-for-4 night and a walk. For a team trying to steady itself in September, wasting that many opportunities in a game with solid pitching only sharpens the concern about how much room there is for error now. [Read more 🡒]