Dodgers have overcome challenges, found a way to win unlike the Padres this season

We were hoping that this series at Dodger Stadium starting tonight was going to be another postseason preview but that’s not the case as the Los Angeles Dodgers are 30+ games over .500 while the San Diego Padres are 10 games under .500 and sitting in fourth place in the NL West.

Some fans who haven’t paid much attention to the Dodgers would think they’ve had a healthy season so that’s why they’re so great and the Padres aren’t great partly because they’ve had a bunch of injuries. While San Diego has had their fair share of them, Los Angeles has had theirs as well.

Walker Buehler has been shut down. Tony Gonsolin is having Tommy John surgery and Dustin May had right flexor tendon surgery. Blake Treinen (shoulder) is doubtful to return. Clayton Kershaw missed more than a month (shoulder). Gavin Lux never played at Dodger Stadium this year, as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in spring training against the Padres.

Oh, and they saw Justin Turner go to the Boston Red Sox, Trea Turner go to the Philadelphia Phillies and Cody Bellinger go to the Chicago Cubs last offseason. Most recently, Julio Urias has been taken off the roster as well (domestic violence investigation).

No excuses though. They’ve kept on chugging—unlike the Padres. We’ll see how they play when it matters most in October but even if they don’t get to the promised land, at least they’ll have a chance to do so.

Here are the pitching matchups for the series at Dodger Stadium:

Tonight: Pedro Avila (SD) vs. Gavin Stone (LAD)

First Pitch: 7:10 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Avila’s last outing (September 5): 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 1 K

Stone’s last MLB outing (August 27): 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Tuesday: Michael Wacha (SD) vs. Lance Lynn (LAD)

First Pitch: 7:10 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Wacha’s last outing (September 6): 4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Lynn’s last outing (September 6): 4.2 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

Wednesday: Blake Snell (SD) vs. Ryan Pepiot (LAD)

First Pitch: 7:10 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Snell’s last outing (September 8): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K

Pepiot’s last outing (September 7): 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K