09/20 Padres Preview: Game 153 vs. Los Angeles

After a very solid 6-4 road trip, which included series wins over the playoff-hopeful Braves and Pirates, the Padres return to Petco Park tonight for their final homestand of the season. First up is a series against the Dodgers, who have now officially clinched the NL West. And in the series opener, they'll send their rookie southpaw Robbie Erlin to the mound to face veteran and Edinson Volquez, who is making his first appearance against San Diego since he was acquired by L.A. last month.

Erlin has been solid since being recalled from Triple-A, going 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA over three starts in that span. However, he's been a victim of a lack of run support, receiving only four runs total during that three-start stretch. In his latest start, he got no run support to back his six-inning two-run outing against the Braves and was tagged with the loss. The lefty has made three career starts at Petco Park, going 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA. Tonight will be his first time facing the Dodgers.

The last time Volquez took the mound in San Diego, he didn't even go a full inning before giving up six runs to the visiting Chicago Cubs. The right-hander was designated for assignment a day later and was soon picked up by the Dodgers. Tonight's outing will be his fifth appearance (fourth start) for L.A. and he hopes to help the Dodgers in their quest now for home field advantage in the playoffs. So far, he is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in Dodger blue. That includes an inning of work, in which he gave up one hit, on August 30th against the Padres at Chavez Ravine. His last time out, Volquez gave up three runs and struck out seven batters, but left the game after 5 2/3 innings with a blister on his thumb. The right-hander is 1-1 all-time against the Padres.

San Diego hopes to build off the success on their road trip and put an end to their five-game losing streak against L.A. Tune in at 7:05 tonight to see if the Padres can do so.