Zack Greinke & the NL West

LOS ANGELES -- Like a college coach performing against his school's biggest rivals, a sure way of ingratiating to one's fan base in baseball is to do well against teams in the same division. Zack Greinke, in his two years with the Dodgers, has been dominant against the National League West.

Greinke gets the call on Tuesday night against the Padres at Dodger Stadium for the middle game of a three-game series, weather permitting.

In 27 starts against the National League West in his two years with Los Angeles is 18-1 with a 1.96 ERA, with 167 strikeouts and 44 walks in 174⅔ innings.

The Dodgers have only lost five of those 27 starts, with two of the losses coming at Coors Field.

Against the Padres he is 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA in six starts, with 35 strikeouts and nine walks in 38 innings. The Dodgers have won five of Greinke's six starts against San Diego, and in the one loss — last August 30 — he allowed only one run in eight innings while striking out eight.

He will face off with another 2014 All-Star on Tuesday, with Tyson Ross starting for the Padres.

Ross pitched quite well in four starts against the Dodgers last season, putting up a 2.67 ERA with 29 strikeouts and eight walks in 29 innings, including lasting at least seven innings and allowing two or fewer earned runs in his final three starts against them.

But he lost all four games.

The Padres scored four total runs in those four Ross starts against the Dodgers, as big a culprit as any for his hard luck.

The Dodgers have won five straight home series against the Padres, dating back to 2013, and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 series against the Padres overall.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA