Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Pitching Matchups This Weekend Against the Padres

The Dodgers and Padres will kick off their first series of the year on Friday night in San Diego. With the budding rivalry that these two NL West teams have experienced over the last few seasons, this series is sure to have a whole lot of fire in it. (though fans in LA would not call it a rivalry)

The pitching matchups in particular should be something to watch. The Dodgers did not come into this season with one of the top rotations in baseball, much different from previous seasons. But the staff has really come together early on, pricing experts wrong. 



Let’s dive into some of those matchups that we should be seeing this weekend. 

Julio Urias vs Nick Martinez

This start should be a very good opportunity for Julio to build off of his last outing. Against the Reds, he shut them down for 5 innings and punched out 5 batters. That was much different from his first start of the season in Colorado. 

Nick Martinez is also making his third start of the year, coming off of a game against the Braves in which he got tagged for 3 homeruns in 5 innings of work. He offers a really good mix, throwing 5 different pitches and relying on his fastball 40 percent of the time. But he’s also had a little bit of luck on his side with an XERA of 6.60 across his 3 starts. 
 
Tyler Anderson vs  Yu Darvish

Anderson will get the start in place of Andrew Heaney, who went on the injured list. He has been very good for the Dodgers so far out of the bullpen though, combining for 4 innings across 2 appearances and punching out 8 batters. 

Meanwhile, Yu Darvish is very much having a rollercoaster of a season. In his first start, he did not allow a hit across 6 innings of work. He followed that up by allowing 9 runs to the Giants in 1.2 innings of work. 

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Clayton Kershaw vs Sean Manaea

And finally, Sunday will be the matchup of lefties. Clayton Kershaw will look to bounce back after an odd ending to his start against the Braves this past Monday. Some extra rest will probably help him there. The Dodgers hurler owns a career 1.88 ERA across 19 starts at Petco Park. He’ll look to build on that dominance on Sunday afternoon. 

One of the coveted trade pieces this offseason, Manea went over to the Padres during Spring Training. He has been VERY good through his first 3 starts of the year, allowing just 3 earned runs across his 19 innings of work. He has also struck out 19 batters and issued 5 walks. 

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