The Dodgers finally begin playoff action tomorrow night and also finally know their opponent, and it’s a very familiar foe, the San Diego Padres. The two clubs have played 19 times so far this year and the Dodgers have won every series and are 14-5 against the rival down South. But, as we all know, nothing that took place in the regular season has anything to do with the post-season, so this article will attempt to break down the upcoming series.

Featured image courtesy of Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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Dodgers Team Stats vs. Padres Team Stats

The chart shows that the Dodgers are better than the Padres in every major statistical category as it pertains to hitting, getting on base, and power, and, in most cases, by quite a bit. The chart also shows the Dodgers have been equally as dominant in the team pitching categories as well, which is why the series has been so lopsided this year.

But, it’s the playoffs, and anything can happen in the post- season, so let’s move on and look at a comparison between starting pitching between the two clubs.

Starting Pitching

As you can see in the chart, the Dodgers starting pitchers have been dominant against the Padres this year and it shows that it is not a fluke either, as all of the Dodgers starters have had lifetime career success against the Padres Prior to this year as well. Andrew Heaney has had the most amount of success against the Padres and it’s largely because he can throw a left-handed sweeping slider that looks like a strike to the right-handed hitters of the Padres, then sweeps out of the zone for swing and miss strikes. The Split-finger of Gonsolin can give the same effect of looking like a strike, then diving out of the zone enticing a swing, so his stuff has also matched up very well against the Padres, especially this year.

Padres Pitching

In terms of the Padre’s pitching, Blake Snell and Yu Darvish have both been good against the Dodgers, but neither has recorded an ERA as low against the Dodgers as the top 5 pitchers for the Dodgers have recorded against the Padres, although, in a couple of instances, it’s probably splitting hairs. The Padres will hope that Darvish and Snell can win their games, then Musgrove will ride the momentum of his performance that finished off the Mets to win their 3 games, in terms of how their starting pitching sets up.

Finishing Up

The first game is Tuesday night at Beautiful Dodgers Stadium with game time set for 6:37, no starters have been announced as of yet, so stay posted for that.