SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Soto & Kim homer, but Musgrove allows 4 runs as Dodgers defeat Padres and take 2nd straight series
- Joe Musgrove went 5.2 innings and allowed 4 runs (earned) on 8 hits…he walked 4 and struck out 5.
- Juan Soto hit his 7th home run in the 1st inning, and HaSeong Kim also homered in the next frame, but the 2 solo shots were the only runs the Padres could muster last night.
- The loss dropped the Padres below .500 for the 1st time sinceApril 27.
- Yesterday, Manager Bob Melvin announced that catcher Luis Campusano underwent left thumb surgery.
Padres have lost 4 of 5 so far to Dodgers in ’23
- San Diego lost 2 of the 3 games last weekend vs. the Dodgers, and they’ve now lost the 1st 2 games of the current series…this most recent series defeat marked the Padres’ 11th straight regular season series they’ve lost against the Dodgers…San Diego’s last series win was on June 21-23, 2021.
- SD has gone 6-27 vs. LAD since their last series win in 2021…the Dodgers have also won the season series with the Padres every year from 2011 through this season…that 13-year series win streak is the longest by any team against a division opponent since divisions were created in 1969 (Sportstrader).
- After today’s game, the Padres will play 2 more regular season series against the Dodgers (August 4-7 in San Diego and September 11-13 in Los Angeles).
Roster move: Weathers recalled and Domingo Tapia optioned to Triple-A
- The Padres recalled LHP Ryan Weathers from Triple-A El Paso ahead of his start today against the Dodgers..the 23-year-old will make his 4th big league start and 6th appearance of the season…it will be his 5th career appearance and 4th start against LAD, posting a combined 3.95 ERA (6 ER, 13.2 IP), 1.02 WHIP and .167 opponent average against them.
- Made his 2nd career Opening Day roster before being optioned to El Paso on April 26…he made 2 starts for the Chihuahuas, tossing a combined 8.0-shutout innings of 3-hit ball, walking 7 and striking out 8. Padres have lost 4 straight and 6 of their last 7
- San Diego has now dropped 4 straight games, their longest losing streak so far in 2023.
- They’ve also lost and 6 of the last 7 games, and 4 of those 6 losses have come at the hands of the Dodgers…the Padres .143 winning percentage in that time since May 6 ties for the lowest in the Majors with Pirates (the A’s are ahead of them with a .250 winning percentage)…meanwhile, the Dodgers have the highest winning percentage in the Majors since May 6 at .857 (6-1).
Trouble with runners in scoring position
- It has been 5 games since the Padres had multiple hits with RISP (May 9 @ MIN), and that’s the last game they won.
- San Diego’s .203 clip with RISP this year is the lowest in baseball (ranking 29th are the A’s with a .210 average).
STARTING PITCHER – RYAN WEATHERS 40
Weathers recalled from Triple-A El Paso
23-year-old Ryan Weathers has been recalled today from Triple-A El Paso to make his 4th big league start and 6th appearance of the season…it will be his 5th career appearance and 4th start against LAD, posting a combined 3.95 ERA (6 ER, 13.2 IP), 1.02 WHIP and .167 opp. AVG.
Vs. Dodger bats
Max Muncy is the only current Dodger with 1 hit vs. Weathers (1-for-4)…Will Smith is 0-for-6, Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas are both 0-for-4, David Peralta and Chris Taylor are 0-for-2 and Freddie Freeman is 0-for-1.
While in El Paso
Weathers made his 2nd career Opening Day roster (also 2021) before being optioned to El Paso on April 26…he made 2 starts for the Chihuahuas (May 3 vs. Oklahoma City & May 9 @ Sugar Land), tossing a combined 8.0-shutout innings of 3-hit ball, walking 7 and striking out 8.
Pickoffs becoming a weapon
Weathers enters today’s tilt as 1 of 10 pitchers with multiple pickoffs this season, with Julio Urias and and Brent Suter the only 2 pitchers with 3…he has 11 pickoffs in 116.1 big league innings, and his 9 pickoffs in 2021 led the Majors.
As a starter
Weathers made 3 starts to begin the season, and allowed 2 runs-or-fewer across 5.0+ IP in all 3 outings…he started SD’s 5th game of the season on April 3 vs. ARI, but did not factor into SD’s 5-4 walkoff victory…he got his 3rd big league victory on April 11 @ NYM in SD’s 4-2 victory…he tossed a season-high 6.0 IP and earned his first quality start on April 17 vs. ATL, but was tagged with his 6th career loss with 0 runs of support on April 17 in SD’s 2-0 defeat.
As a reliever
After his 3 starts, Weathers made 2 relief outings, earning his 1st career hold on April 22 @ ARI in SD’s 5-3 victory, allowing 1 hit while striking out 1…he tossed another scoreless frame on April 25 @ CHC, retiring all 3 batters he faced on 10 pitches.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
WIN IT FOR MOM!: The Dodgers won their fifth consecutive series and for the most part put yesterday’s game with San Diego away in the first inning by virtue of a three-home run homer by J.D. Martinez, who just came back from the injured list Friday night. The Dodgers’ second straight 4-2 victory over the Padres gives the club 12 wins in their last 14 games and four wins in five tries against the Friars in 2023. Julio Urías was sensational, giving up just two runs and three hits, while matching a Dodger season high by going 7.0 innings to earn his fifth victory of the campaign. The Martinez homer was all the Dodgers would need, but Freddie Freeman chipped in with two hits and two runs scored, raising his average on the season to .304. In addition, every Dodger in the starting lineup reached base safely. This afternoon, the Dodgers go for the sweep of their series with the Padres and tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m., the Boys in Blue will host the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins for the first contest of a three-game series as the homestand (2-0) rolls on. The Dodgers are 6-4 on Mother’s Day since 2012. They didn’t play in 2020 and lost in 2014, ’17, ’18 and ’21. The Dodgers last swept San Diego from Aug. 5-7 at Dodger Stadium last year. Los Angeles has won 11 consecutive series vs. the Padres going back to Aug. 24-26, 2021. The Dodgers have the best home record in the National League (14-6, .700) and have won eight consecutive contests at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles enters play today with a season-high tying 3.0-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West. The Dodgers have the second best run differential in the National League (+52), barely trailing the Atlanta Braves (+53). Freeman has scored a run in six consecutive games and ranks second in the Major Leagues with 33 runs scored, just one behind Ronald Acuña Jr. Dodger catcher Will Smith went 1-for-4 yesterday and drove in the Dodgers’ fourth run with an RBI single. Smith is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two homers, two doubles, five RBI and three walks during his five-game hitting streak. The Dodgers are 18-6 (.750) when Smith is in the starting lineup this year.
PEN MEN: The Dodger bullpen fired a couple more scoreless innings yesterday and Caleb Ferguson extended his Dodger reliever season high scoreless innings streak to 11.1 by recording the first non 3.0-inning save of his career. Since allowing a season high-matching eight runs on April 26 at PIT (also, April 21 at CHC), the Dodger ‘pen has posted an NL best 2.32 ERA (13 ER/50.1 IP) with 58 strikeouts against 19 walks. The bullpen is among the leaders in multiple categories since April 27, including ERA (2nd), batting average against (.173, 1st), opponents slugging percentage (.257, 1st) opponents OBP (.256, 1st) and opponents OPS (.513, 1st).
MLB TEAM ERA LEADERS – RELIEVERS (Since April 27)
Seattle Mariners 1.48
Los Angeles Dodgers 2.42
WE’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER: The Dodgers clobbered the Padres in the regular season last year, going 14-5, including an 8-2 mark at Dodger Stadium. This year, the club is off to a 4-1 start vs. San Diego and over the last three seasons, Los Angeles is 30-13 (.698) vs. San Diego during the regular season. Since 2017, the Boys in Blue are 76-34 against the Padres with a 40-15 (.727) record at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are 11-7 in 2023 and 65-29 (.691) against the National League West dating back to last season. The Dodgers have posted nine straight winning seasons against the National League West division, including four 50+ win seasons against their NL West foes (2014, 2019, 2021-22). Since 2014, the Dodgers are 418-249 (.627) against the NL West.
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers belted another homer yesterday and have hit home runs in seven consecutive games. The club has 67 on the season, which is second in the Majors, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (80). The Dodgers have recorded 3+ homers in 12 games this season, which is second in the Majors, one behind the Rays (13). Los Angeles is also second in the Majors with 32 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (36), ho have homered in all but five games this season.
TODAY’S STARTER vs. PADRES: RHP TONY GONSOLIN (0-1, 1.93 ERA in 3 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- 2022 All-Star tossed a season-high six innings in his last start against Milwaukee, giving up three hits, three runs and no walks while striking out six in his first loss of the season
- In his rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 20th, he hurled three innings, allowing one hit, two earned runs, two walks while sitting down seven
- Made one Spring Training start, tossing 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out two
VS. PADRES:
- Picked up the win in his last outing against San Diego on July 1, 2022, tossing 7.2 innings of one-run ball, giving up four hits and no walks while sitting down eight
- He is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA (5 ER/31.0 IP) and 32 strikeouts in six career games (five starts) against the Padres
