Dodgers return home to face Padres in four games

The Dodgers and Padres have faced off nine times already this season and are due up for four more. LA leads the season series, 5-4, but the Padres have won the last three games in this matchup.

San Diego is coming off of a losing home stand where they lost a 3-game series to the Giants and split a 2-game series with the Orioles. The Dodgers are fresh out of a road trip where they took four out of six games.

In the division, the Dodgers are first place with a 71-39 record this year and the Padres are fourth in the NL West and are seven games under .500.

Game one: Clayton Kershaw (9-2, 2.85 ERA) vs. Joey Lucchesi (7-5, 4.12 ERA)

Thursday, August 1 - 7:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out-of-market)

Clayton Kershaw will pitch the series opener against the divisional opponent. Kershaw is coming off of a quality start in Washington D.C. where he tossed six innings and held the Nationals to two runs on three hits and three walks. The veteran consistently provides the Dodgers with at least six innings in his starts. He is 1-0 in three games against San Diego this season and holds Padres batters to a .222 average.

Joey Lucchesi is facing off Kershaw in game one. The left hander is also coming off of a great start where he struck out eight Giants in six innings and held them to one run and two hits. Lucchesi is 1-0 against the Dodgers this season and 1-3 in his career against LA. Max Muncy and Justin Turner each hit a home run off of him the last time they faced him.

Game two: Dustin May (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Eric Lauer (5-8, 4.52 ERA)

Friday, August 2 - 7:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA

In a highly anticipated, but earlier than expected move, Dustin May will get the call to join the Dodgers. He will make his major league debut against the Padres on Friday night, and hopefully there are fireworks. The 21-year-old right hander has played on two minor league levels this year, Double-A and Triple-A. He combines for a 6-5 record and 3.38 ERA in 20 games.

Eric Lauer will head to the mound to face the rookie on Friday. He wasn’t so hot in his last start against the Mets, where he was dinged for four runs in the first inning and was replaced after 2 ¹⁄₃ frames. His last outing against the Dodgers was quite impressive, actually. Lauer tossed six innings and only allowed one run to score from two hits while striking out six batters.

Game three: Walker Buehler (9-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. TBD

Saturday, August 3 - 6:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out-of-market)

It is not officially announced, but Walker Buehler is the next pitcher in the rotation. Buehler struggled in his last outing versus the Nationals after he had a stellar outing against the Marlins where he tossed seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. This will be his first time facing the Friars this season. Last year, he was 1-0 in two games against San Diego with a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings.

The Padres have not announced who will start in game three.

Game four: Kenta Maeda (7-8, 4.07 ERA) vs. Chris Paddack (7-5, 2.78 ERA)

Sunday, August 4 - 1:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA

The Dodgers haven’t announced who is getting the mound in the series finale, but Kenta Maeda will likely be the next to take a turn. Maeda’s last outing in Denver didn’t end well. He pitched four innings and gave up seven hits, six runs (five earned) and two walks. In three games against the Padres this year, Maeda has a 1-1 record and holds his opponents to a .145 batting average. The 31-year-old hasn’t won a game in over two months and will look to get his pitching record back to .500.

Chris Paddack, who is also known as “The Sheriff,” will face Kenta Maeda on Sunday afternoon. He has made two starts at Dodger Stadium this season — one good and one not-so-good. His better one was the most recent, where he tossed held the Dodgers to five scorless innings and three hits. Paddack has pitched at least five innings in his last six starts and didn’t give up more than three runs in each start during that same time span.