The San Diego Padres need to win at least a game against against the Dodgers, but the task could get tougher.
The San Diego Padres took a tough loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, and things will get more difficult in the second game of the series. Shohei Ohtani is “considerably” healthier, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, and he’s considering returning to the lineup.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ranked Ohtani’s health as an eight or a nine on the proverbial 1-10 scale, and the Dodgers just activated right-hander Roki Sasaki and center fielder Andy Pages off the IL as they set their roster and rotation for the playoffs.
The Padres still need to get there, but they looked completely cowed by the Dodgers in their 7-0 loss in the first game of the series. It was especially awful to see starter Michael King fall apart the way he did, as King simply lost the strike zone completely and the result was a four-run inning for LA that ended the game before it started.
Even worse, the San Diego lineup looked lost against an opener and a subsequent parade of Dodgers relievers. This is the same lineup that’s been hitting together as a group to back up their three stars, but Padres hitters came up empty, and this wasn’t Yoshinobu Yamamoto they were facing.
Yamamoto is listed as tonight’s starter against Robbie Ray, and it’s essential for the Padres to show signs of life. They may not win any of these games, but they need to be able to show up against the Arizona Diamondbacks back at Petco when the Dodgers series is done.
They may get help, of course. There are three other teams involved in this wild-card scrum, and the Arizona Diamondbacks may lose to the Colarado Rockies. Or the Milwaukee Brewers might rise up and take out the Philadelphia Phillies. And on and on.
But the larger issue is about where the Padres are right now, and they look like a one-and-done playoff team, assuming they get in. They’re certainly not in the same league as the Dodgers, and they need to recreate the magic that helped them go on a wild tear to get to where they are now.
Can they do it? Tough to say, but it sure doesn’t look like the Padres have the gumption to get it done against the Dodgers. Those signs of life are important, though, and that’s what we’ll be looking for in the second game of this crucial series.
