FanPost

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres series preview

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when the Padres and Dodgers matched up against one another seven times in a ten say timeframe in April? That was a whole lot of fun. The Padres have taken four out of the first seven games thanks to Fernando Tatis Jr. homering five times in three games in a series win at Dodger Stadium.

Now, Tatis is coming off a shoulder injury that he sustained when he rolled onto his left shoulder attempting to dive for a ball on Saturday. Manager Jayce Tingler said after Sunday's game that Tatis would've pinch hit in the ninth inning had the game gotten to that point so it looks like he will be in the lineup for Monday's series opener.

As for the Dodgers, they are 44-27 and coming off a series that seemed like it was at home because of how many fans were at Chase Field. Los Angeles swept the Diamondbacks, capped off with a 9-8 win after being up 9-1 at one point in the fifth inning.

Petco Park will be buzzing for this three-game series!

Monday, June 21 (7:10 pm PT): Julio Urias (LAD) vs. Yu Darvish (SD)

TV: Bally Sports San Diego, Radio: 97.3 The Fan

Julio Urias has been thrown around in trade talks over the years but the Dodgers knew how valuable he was and he's shown that thus far in his Dodger career. He made the final out of the World Series last season against the Rays and currently owns a 3.54 ERA. He'll be making his first start at Petco Park this season, as his manager Dave Roberts lined up his three aces to pitch in April the last time the Dodgers were in San Diego.

Darvish will need to pitch as well as he has the majority of the season if he wants to lead the Friars to a series opening win. The Padres have lost two straight games when Darvish starts on the mound in games that were against the Rockies and Cubs. The good news for Padres fans is no Dodger is hitting particularly well against Darvish, as Mookie Betts is 0-for-9 and Justin Turner if 0-for-8.

Tuesday, June 22 (7:10 pm PT): Clayton Kershaw (LAD) vs. Blake Snell (SD)

TV: Bally Sports San Diego, Radio: 97.3 The Fan

Jayce Tinger hasn't yet officially named a starter for Tuesday but it is Blake Snell's turn in the rotation. Snell has pitched much better at home than on the road this season so hopefully that trend will continue against the team he dominated in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series. The version of Snell the Padres saw in Colorado can't happen again this week or else they'll have zero chance of winning. Snell gave up seven runs in less than four innings of work last time out at Coors Field.

Clayton Kershaw has been announced as the starter for the second game of the series. The Padres are a team Kershaw knows well but Kershaw is facing a new era of Padres players. One of those players is Tatis, who homered twice off of Kershaw the last time Kershaw pitched against San Diego--a game the Padres ended up winning 6-1 in Los Angeles.

Wednesday, June 23 (7:10 pm PT): Trevor Bauer (LAD) vs. Joe Musgrove (SD)

TV: Bally Sports San Diego, Radio: 97.3 The Fan

Jayce Tingler again has yet to announce Wednesday's starter but if Snell starts Tuesday, it will be Musgrove's turn in the rotation. I couldn't imagine Musgrove not getting the nod in this Dodgers series because he has been San Diego's second-best starter this season. Musgrove is coming off of his best start in a Padres uniform while pitching at Petco Park--a seven inning shutout against the Reds last Thursday on San Diego's "Reopening Day".

This is going to be a matchup to watch with Trevor Bauer taking the mound for the third time this season against the Padres. Tatis took Bauer deep twice the last time the two teams saw each other, which was the headline of the series because of the allegations against Tatis about him peeking at the catcher's signs before his second home run of the night. Those allegations were quickly put in the trash because video showed that the catcher didn't even have the signs down when Tatis looked down. Nonetheless, Tatis vs. Bauer is going to be a must-see matchup on Wednesday night!

Bauer enters with a 2.45 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 2021.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.