The San Diego Padres (61-47, 51-57 RL, 50-55-3 O/U) battle the Los Angeles Dodgers (72-33, 65-41 RL, 40-54-11 O/U) in a divisional showdown on Friday evening. The Padres will have Sean Manaea on the hill targeting his second consecutive win. The Dodgers will counter with Tony Gonsolin, seeking his 13th victory. The Dodgers lead the season series 5-2.
Sean Manaea will make his 20th start of the season to begin the series. Manaea was solid in his latest effort, limiting the Twins to only two runs in six innings, and was awarded the win to improve his record to 6-5. The veteran southpaw hasn’t been quite as effective recently, posting a 5.40 ERA in his last five starts, and has logged a 4.25 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 110 innings pitched on the year. Manaea squandered seven runs in 4.1 innings against the Dodgers in April and has allowed 15 runs (14 earned) with an 0-3 record in 18 career innings against the foes.
The Padres have loaded up with Juan Soto and Josh Bell and now have lofty expectations in postseason action. The squad is hot, winning five out of their last six games after series wins against Minnesota, followed by four wins in five meetings against Colorado this week.
Manny Machado has str uggled against the Dodgers pitching this year, going only 4 for 22 with zero RBIs. The 30-year-old star is having a marvelous season, launching 19 homers with 60 RBIs and an .880 OPS. Machado has amassed six RBIs in his last eight games.
San Diego is scoring an average of 4.47 runs, ranking them 13th overall. The pitching staff has posted a 3.73 team ERA, tabbing them eighth in the big leagues.