Dodgers to open postseason play against Padres at Dodger Stadium
The Los Angeles Dodgers will seek to repeat their regular-season dominance of the San Diego Padres when they meet in a National League Division Series beginning Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers won 14 of 19 games against the Padres this year, including eight of 10 at Dodger Stadium.
"The regular season has no bearing on the postseason," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said at a news conference Monday. "It's the best-of-five so history in our opinion doesn't really matter."
The Dodgers won a franchise-record 111 games. Their 111-51 record was the best in Major League Baseball, gave them a first-round bye and assured them of home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
San Diego was 89-73, finishing second in the National League West, 22 games behind the Dodgers. The Padres got the second of the National League's three wild-card playoff berths, then upset the New York Mets, who had 101 regular-season victories, in a best-of-three wild-card series, two games to one.
The Dodgers scored an MLB-leading 847 runs and allowed 513, the fewest in MLB. San Diego scored 705 runs, 13th in MLB, and allowed 660, the 10th fewest.
When asked if this was "the most dangerous version of the Padres you guys have had to face" Roberts responded, "Probably."
"I think that if you look at the starters, I think it's a very power of strength for them on the starters," Robert said. "They've got some nice arms in the bullpen.
"As far as positionally, I think this is the best we've seen them be able to defend. As far as the lineup on the offensive side, they've just got a lot more balance than they have in years past. We've got a good test."
Left-hander Julio Urías will pitch for the Dodgers against right- hander Mike Clevinger. Roberts said he selected Urías as the Game 1 starter over Clayton Kershaw because "we felt that having Julio for Game 1 and potentially for Game 5 on regular (rest) just made the most sense."
"Hopefully we can get through the series," Roberts said. "Then Clayton will be even more prominent in the next series. That's kind of how it works."
Urías was 17-7 in the regular season with a National League-best 2.16 ERA. His 17 victories were second in the league behind Atlanta right-hander Kyle Wright's 21. Opponents batted .199 against Urías, the third lowest-figure in the league behind Arizona's Zac Gallen (.186) and Milwaukee's Corbin Burnes (.197).
Urías was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts against San Diego, including pitching six shutout innings in his final start against the Padres on Sept. 28, a 1-0, 10-inning Dodgers victory in which he did not figure in the decision.
Urías is 6-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 15 appearances against San Diego lifetime, including 10 starts.
Clevinger was 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA, including an 0-2 record and 9.69 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers. He had not pitched against the Dodgers before 2022.
"Based on a little bit more rest every time, he has been better," Padres manager Bob Melvin said. "He has pitched some really good games for us. He has done it recently as well, and we always have confidence when he pitches."
Clevinger will be pitching for the first time since Oct. 1, when he allowed one run and three hits in six innings and was credited with the victory in a 5-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Clevinger was scratched from his planned start Wednesday due to an unspecified illness and was placed on the injured list for the third time in the season. He was also on the injured list April 4-May 3 due to a right knee sprain and May 22-June 17 because of a right triceps strain.
Clevinger described his season as "a roller coaster."
"Ups and downs, there's some mild injuries, there was illnesses. It's just good to finally be here and be in this environment right now."
The Dodgers were 21-10 in Urías' 31 starts. San Diego was 15-7 in Clevinger's 22 starts.
The game is set to begin at 6:37 p.m. and will be televised by FS1.
Game 2 will be played Wednesday, also at Dodger Stadium.
Games 3 and 4 will be played Friday and Saturday at San Diego's Petco Park. Game 5, if necessary, would be played Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Tickets for the games at Dodger Stadium are available at dodgers.com/postseason. Fans are also encouraged to check the postseason ticket inventory available on the Dodgers' secondary market partner, StubHub.
The Dodgers will continue to honor the legacy of their late longtime broadcaster Vin Scully during the postseason, beginning with two commemorative non-fungible token digital ticket giveaways during the first two games of the series.
All ticketed fans for Game 1 will receive a digital ticket collectible that features Scully's call of Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run. Attendees of Game 2 will receive a digital ticket collectible showcasing Scully's call of Fernando Valenzuela's 1990 no-hitter.
Former Dodgers Eric Karros and Steve Sax will throw Tuesday's ceremonial first pitch.
