Scherzer Looks to Lead Dodgers to Sweep Over San Diego

The Los Angeles Dodgers are 5-0 in their last five games against the San Diego Padres including a 2-0 record through the first two games of this current three-game series. The Dodgers send Max Scherzer to the mound in the series finale against the Padres this Sunday afternoon.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Dodgers opened as -195 favorites in this matchup, but action on the Padres has brought this line down to Los Angeles -159. San Diego is going off as a +149 underdog on Sunday and the total in this National League West showdown is set at 7.5 runs. The OVER is 4-1 in Los Angeles’s last five home games vs. San Diego.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Blake Snell took a tough-luck loss in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels as he allowed only one hit and two earned runs with 11 strikeouts in seven innings pitched but received no run support in a 4-0 loss. Snell has been outstanding since the beginning of August with a 1.85 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP and 54 strikeouts over his last seven starts. Despite his recent dominance, the Padres are just 1-4 in Snell’s last five trips to the mound.

Max Scherzer has not allowed an earned run in each of his last three starts, extending that streak in Los Angeles’s 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals last Monday when he pitched eight innings with no earned runs and 13 strikeouts. Scherzer is 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts in 43 innings through his first seven starts with the Dodgers. Los Angeles is a perfect 7-0 over that stretch.

San Diego News & Notes

Fernando Tatis Jr. went 3-for-4 and hit his 38th home run of the season on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Padres to a win as they came up short in a 5-4 final. Manny Machado also went 3-for-4 in the loss while the rest of the lineup went just 2-for-26. San Diego fell to 3-5 over its last eight games and to 8-18 over its last 26 games with the loss.

The Padres scored 11 runs off of Max Scherzer in two games against him when he was still pitching for the Nationals this season. In Scherzer’s one start against the Padres as a Dodger, San Diego was held to two hits and no runs across 7.2 innings at home. A potential wild card play-in game between the Dodgers and Padres could feature this Snell vs. Scherzer matchup again.

Los Angeles Dodgers News & Notes

The Dodgers picked up their 90th win of the season in Saturday’s 5-4 victory over the Padres. Walker Buehler pitched seven innings and allowed only two runs and Mookie Betts went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. This Los Angeles lineup is so stacked from top to bottom that the offense can come from anywhere on any given night.

At 90-53, Los Angeles has the second-best record in baseball behind only the division-leading San Francisco Giants. The Giants have won six straight games and have a 2.5-game lead over the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West. The runner-up in this division race is likely to become just the third 100-win wild card team in MLB history.