This is a 9* on LA DODGERS

The Dodgers beat the slumping Padres 5-2 last night. Looking at the NL West standings, there is now an 11.5 game gap between the two teams. That’s not what the San Diego faithful expected from 2021. They were supposed to challenge LA for division supremacy. Instead, they are a bit of an afterthought in third place. They may not even make the playoffs as they’re locked into a tight race with Cincinnati for the second Wild Card spot. They enter today one game behind the Reds. As bad as the Padres need to win here, the Dodgers aren’t going to lie down. They are trying to catch the Giants for first place. The Dodgers should still be considered the best team in MLB. They have won 14 of 16. The Padres have lost 10 of 12. San Diego leads the season series 7-4, but the Dodgers have won the season series each of the last 10 years. It was a 5-0 game heading into the bottom of the eighth last night. The Padres are just 4-11 as home underdogs of +125 to +175. Walker Buehler is set to start this game for Los Angeles. He is 13-2 this year with a 2.11 ERA. That ERA is tops in the National League. His only losses this year were games where the Dodgers were shutout. Buehler is 4-0 with a 1.76 ERA vs. San Diego all-time. The Padres’ starting rotation is in tatters right now and it would take a near perfect effort from Blake Snell to get the job done here. We don’t see that happening. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA