Dodgers’ rotation vs Padres in final 2 games could teach SD a lesson

Once again, the Dodgers have managed to meet the San Diego Padres head on with their very best in a clash for NL West supremacy.

It’s been a while since these two teams last spoke. Just for safety, let’s check the standings to make absolutely certain they rank No. 1 and 2 in the NL West?

Oh. I see. Well, actually, I see, but I don’t comprehend. This is meaningless. This looks like nothing to me.

Well…if the Dodgers and Padres have any hope of taking down the…Giants? Am I pronouncing that right?…they’ll have to hit one another with their best shot, and much like they did the first time these squads faced off, Los Angeles set things up perfectly.

In Game 1, we saw Julio Urias against Yu Darvish. Pretty wonderful matchup. Even. Battle-tested vet vs. battle-tested kid.

Games 2 and 3? They began the week as Clayton Kershaw vs. TBD and Trevor Bauer vs. TBD. Hah!

We assume the Padres plan to fill in some pitchers there eventually, but still. One team entered the pivotal mid-week series with their three best options lined up, and the other was caught with their Swag Chain around their ankles.

All eyes will be on Bauer this week, with rival fans hoping his best days are behind him after MLB’s recent changes to the composition of the baseball’s surface. While the rest of the league is on RPM watch, it’ll be up to the powerful righty to prove the detractors wrong while fending off an explosive Padres team that helps complete the best triumvirate atop any division in baseball.

Also, the last time Kershaw faced the Padres on the road, we were treated to something pretty special, too: six shutout innings, eight strikeouts, and a NSFW screaming match with Jurickson Profar in a pear tree.

Sometimes, it’s the in-season breaks that define just how “great” a team can be, though. The Dodgers have watched things fall very pleasantly this week in their quest to rocket to the top of the NL West, and the Padres have been forced to scramble for a bit following their No. 1 starter’s appearance.

This isn’t the be all, end all, but it’s another lesson in preparation from last year’s champ.

Dodgers played mind games with Giants by using Phil Bickford against them

The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the San Francisco Giants and used one of their former top prospects against them. Cold-blooded.