The Dodgers didn’t just beat the Padres on Thursday night - they flipped the game on its head. Down 6-0 after the top of the second, Los Angeles stormed back with 12 straight runs and rolled to a 12-7 win, a comeback that kept the club moving in the right direction as this weekend’s series continues.
Friday brings another big test, and the Dodgers have a chance to keep tightening their grip on the NL West. Los Angeles has built a 13-game lead in the division, and with three games left in San Diego this weekend, the Dodgers can all but bury the Padres’ divisional hopes. They’ve also taken five of seven from San Diego this season.
The lineup card brings one notable change: Tommy Edman is out, while Dalton Rushing is starting.
On the mound, Shohei Ohtani gets the ball for Los Angeles with a little extra rest after his Wednesday start was pushed back two days. It’s his second outing against the Padres this season.
Back in May at Petco Park, Ohtani was sharp, tossing five shutout innings. More recently, though, the results with Rushing behind the plate haven’t been quite as clean.
Over his last three starts with Rushing catching, Ohtani has allowed 10 runs, nine earned, in 18.2 innings.
That battery drew attention last week because of some very public disagreements during the game, but the expectation is that the issues are in the rearview mirror heading into Friday night.
Ohtani enters the start at 8-2 with a 1.58 ERA over 79.2 innings this season.
San Diego counters with its ace, right-hander Michael King, who has already seen the Dodgers twice this year. In May, King shut down Los Angeles over seven scoreless innings and struck out nine. Last weekend, the Dodgers had the upper hand, tagging him for four runs in 4.1 innings.
King’s season line sits at a 3.55 ERA across 96.1 innings.
First pitch for Dodgers-Padres on Friday, July 3 is set for 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m.
ET. The game will air on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on AM570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish.
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Padres Pitcher Sparks Postgame Scare After Dodgers Wild Comeback
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The situation became more concerning once he was being checked out, and the club moved quickly to have him examined more thoroughly as a precaution. For a Padres team already trying to absorb a painful collapse against Los Angeles, the bigger concern now is the health of one of its pitchers, with tests still ongoing and no immediate clarity beyond the fact that he was stable and conscious. [Read more 🡒]
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A.J. Preller Suddenly Holds The Key To Padres Deadline Pressure
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Alden Gonzalez pointed to the Padres struggles at the plate as the driving force, and the bigger question now is how far ownership is willing to go to support a push. With a new group in place, Preller may have more room to take on money than he has in past summers, which could open the door to a more aggressive pursuit of impact bats and maybe even a front-line arm if the market breaks the right way. [Read more 🡒]