Padres, Dodgers Square Off For First Time With NL West Lead On The Line

The San Diego Padres enjoyed a sweep over the Seattle Mariners over the weekend and take a 28-18 record into its first series against the National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Padres blew out the Mariners 8-3 Sunday night and watched right-hander Lucas Giolito pitch well in his Padres and season debut. Giolito signed with the Padres a couple of weeks ago and threw five innings and allowed three runs on one hit and three walks with three strikeouts to earn his first win of the year.

Giolito ran into issues in the sixth inning, issuing all three of his walks before being removed; Yuki Matsui allowed the runs to score.

Giolito outpitched Mariners righty George Kirby, who lasted 5.2 innings and allowed six runs on six hits and two walks while fanning six, taking his third loss of the season. Kirby couldn’t get Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets out – well, nobody could.

Sheets was 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, two walks and four RBI, continuing his hot stretch.

The Padres’ best chance at taking the first of four series against the red-hot Dodgers is Sheets staying hot in the batter’s box. Sheets is slashing .325/.460/.725 (1.185 OPS) in May with five homers and is 10-for-16 in his last six games.

He leads the team with nine home runs, and his .896 OPS tops the team (minimum 20 games played), which is huge considering how poorly right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. has been at the dish this season.

What a great series for Tatis to wake up and play like himself – just imagine how much better the Padres would be if its top star was playing at the level we know he’s capable of.

The series opener will feature a matchup between two ace right-handers: Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and San Diego’s Michael King.

Yamamoto is 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 48 strikeouts through eight starts (50 innings). He has allowed a lot of baserunners over his last few starts and gave up three or more runs in four consecutive outings.

Yamamoto took the loss against the San Francisco Giants his last time out, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing five runs (three home runs) on six hits with eight strikeouts.

King has been huge for San Diego’s pitching staff, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.63 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 50 strikeouts through nine starts (51.1 innings). He last worked against the Milwaukee Brewers and pitched a dandy.

King threw 5.2 innings and allowed one run on six hits and two walks while punching out five to earn a no-decision. He has allowed just four home runs this season.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.