Dodgers Dugout: How do the Dodgers compare to the Padres?

Hello and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Julian Schröder and the Dodgers have a three-game lead over the Padres in the NL West, just in time for the Padres to come to town for a three-game series. It doesn't get much more exciting than that.

Keep in mind that the Padres have the edge over the Dodgers in tiebreaker mode, so if they finish the season with the same score, San Diego wins the division.

I have a sneaking feeling these teams will play each other in the postseason, so let's see how they do this season:

attack

Runs per game
Dodgers, 5.15 (2nd in MLB)
Padres, 4.74 (8th)

Batting average
Washington, .265 (1.)
Dodgers, .255 (5th)

Percent based on
Dodgers, .332 (3.)
Pittsburgh, .326 (4th)

Impact performance in %
Dodgers, .444 (1.)
Pittsburgh, .422 (7th)

Double
Dodgers, 276 (T3.)
Padres, 246 (16.)

three
Dodgers, 26 (T10.)
Padres, 17 (T19.)

Home runs
Dodgers, 225 (T2.)
Padres, 185 (10.)

Stolen Bases
Dodgers, 127 (12.)
Padres, 115 (14.)

Walks
Dodgers, 576 (T2.)
Padres, 444 (24.)

Strikethrough
Dodgers, 1,296 (19th place)
Padres, 1,032 (30.)

Sacrificial Bunts
Padres, 27 (2.)
Dodgers, 10 (T21.)

Batting average with runners in scoring position
Pittsburgh, .274 (4th)
Dodgers, .264 (9th)

Hitting with two outs, runner in scoring position
Dodgers, .268 (1.)
Pittsburgh, .222 (24.)

*Late and tight
Pittsburgh, .267 (1.)
Dodgers, .255 (2.)

*Late and close are batting appearances in the seventh inning or later when the batting team is tied, ahead by one point, or at least at the tying point.

Set up

EPOCH
Padres, 3.84 (11th)
Dodgers, 3.95 (15th)

Rotational ERA
Padres, 3.91 (14th)
Dodgers, 4.22 (19th)

Bullpen ERA
Dodgers, 3.66 (eighth)
Padres, 3.75 (11th)

Shutouts
Padres, 15 (T-First)
Dodgers, 13 (T-Sixth)

Saves
Dodgers, 47 (Fifth)
Padres, 42 (T-Ninth)

Failed parades
Dodgers, 29 (T-Third)
Padres, 23 (T13.)

Save %
Padres, 64.6% (13th)
Dodgers, 61.8% (17th)

Inherited runners who scored %
Dodgers, 33.3% (14th)
Padres, 33.9% (19th)

Homeruns allowed
Dodgers, 194 (fifth most)
Padres, 163 (T23.)

WHIP
Padres, 1,214 (seventh)
Dodgers, 1,233 (ninth)

Hits per 9 IP
Dodgers, 7.97 (seventh)
Padres, 8.06 (ninth)

Walks per 9 IP
Padres, 2.87 (ninth)
Dodgers, 3.12 (16th)

K's pro 9 IP
Padres, 9.18 (fourth)
Dodgers, 8.47 (16th)

Profit-loss balance sheet

Home
Dodgers, 50-28, .641
Padres, 45-36, .556

Street
Padres, 45-30, .600
Dodgers, 43-35, .551

Before the All-Star break
Dodgers, 56-41, .577
Padres, 50-49, .505

Contribution ASB
Padres, 40-17, .702
Dodgers, 37-22, .627

Additional innings
Padres, 10-2, .833
Dodgers, 9-7, .563

Games with a one-point lead
Padres, 22-18, .550
Dodgers, 19-17, .528

Blowout (win or loss by at least five points)
Dodgers, 22-18, .550
Padres, 22-19, .537

Interleague
Dodgers, 30-16, .652
Padres, 27-19, .587

Walk-off wins/losses
Padres, 10-5, .667
Dodgers, 7-8, .467

Perform differential
Dodgers, +133
Padres, +97

Two very good teams. If the Dodgers win at least two of three games, they are the division. A tall order. It would be best not to have to travel to Denver for the last three games of the season to win them all and win the division. Give the pitching staff a chance to rest and let guys like Brent Honeywell And Ben Casparius if necessary, complete the majority of the innings there.

But the Dodgers never make it easy for themselves,

What do the Dodgers have to do?

Dave Roberts said it best in this story from Jack Harris: “I think it's pretty easy to see that when we played them 10 times this year, they played with more intensity than we did,” Roberts said. “And that's got to change. I expect it to change. Playing against these guys – in certainly very, very meaningful games – is going to bring out the best in us.”

“I think the chasing pack always has a little extra incentive, so I think that's part of it,” Roberts said of the difference in intensity he has sometimes observed between the clubs. “But if the talent is the same, there's no reason why our fight, intensity and focus shouldn't match or exceed theirs.”

Well, yeah, let's hope the Dodgers can match their opponent's concentration through three important games. If they can't do that now, what chance do they have of making it in the postseason?

Can the “Cat Man” come to the rescue?

The Dodgers could get pitching reinforcements this postseason from a very unexpected source: Tony Gonzalez.

Gonsolin is recovering from Tommy John surgery (stop me if you've heard this before). In his three rehab appearances in Triple-A this month, he has a 2.35 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 7 ⅔ innings, allowing seven hits and two walks. His fastball tops out at 94 mph, and he throws his slider, changeup and splitter for strikes. He'll play one bullpen session before the Dodgers decide what to do, which includes activating him for the final series against Colorado.

“He has postseason experience,” Dave Roberts said. “The most important thing for us is to continue to develop him. And then we'll just see where he is, where we are.”

Of course, Gonsolin's postseason experience consists of a 9.20 ERA in eight games, so…

Postseason rotation

This will obviously be the big key for the postseason. How much depth can they get out of their starters? They have Jack Flahertywho is able to last seven innings, and then a lot of question marks. Landon Knack could maybe give you six if the pressure of the postseason isn't too great. Yoshinobu Yamamoto took a step back with a poor performance on Sunday and has not pitched more than four innings since his return. Walker Buehler is…who knows? He seems to be settling down after a rocky first inning, but you can't afford to fall too deep into a hole in a postseason game. But right now, those seem to be the four most likely starters.

But what about Gonsolin? And what about Clayton Kershaw? Can either of them return? And if so, what will happen, considering they appear to be coming off the injured list in time for the postseason. Will Dave Roberts have the tools to keep Kershaw on a short leash?

Remember last season with Lance Lynn? Everyone knew that if Lynn allowed one home run, more would follow. But Roberts allowed him four home runs in a crucial postseason game. That can't happen this season. Flaherty can have a little leeway, but if Buehler looks bad, you can't give him time to find his feet (unless you're up 3-0 in the series).

Leading the pitching staff has always been Roberts' biggest weakness. And this year the pitching staff is more fragile than ever. Prepare to bite your nails to the nail bed.

Should the Dodgers settle for the wild card?

Some readers have emailed suggesting that the Dodgers would be better off in the wild-card round because the long break between the end of the season and the start of the second round of the postseason would hurt their ability to compete. To me, that's ridiculous. There's no evidence that “long breaks” hurt a team (teams have had long breaks during the postseason for years, such as when a team won the ALCS and got several extra days off when the NLCS was seven games, and vice versa).

And this season, with the rotation in shambles and the bullpen overloaded, it's better to have more time off. No one said the Dodgers are losing on purpose, mind you, just that falling into the wild-card round might benefit them.

One reader emphatically confirmed to me: “Informed fans agree with me, and if you did a poll, you would find out.”

So let's find out. Would it be an advantage if the Dodgers were in the wild-card round? Vote here to let us know.

The race after the season

A look at the teams' performance. The division winner and the next three teams with the better record will advance to the postseason:

Head of Department

1. Dodgers, 93-63
2.Philadelphia, 93-64
3.Milwaukee, 89-67

The Phillies have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers, while the Dodgers have the edge over the Brewers. All three teams have clinched a postseason spot.

Wildcard ranking

San Diego, 90-66
New York Mets, 87-69
Arizona, 87-70
Atlanta, 85-71, 1.5 GB

If the season ended today, the Dodgers and Phillies would receive a first-round bye. Milwaukee would host Arizona in a best-of-three wild-card round, with the winner moving on to face the Phillies in the best-of-five division series. San Diego would host the Mets, with the winner moving on to face the Dodgers.

If the Dodgers slip out of the top two and have to play in the wild-card round, their postseason will begin on Tuesday, October 1. If they stay in the top two, their postseason will begin on Saturday, October 5.

Results: Who is your favorite Dodger right now?

We've narrowed it down to two and after 20,007 votes, your current favorite Dodgers is:

Mookie Betts, 75.9%
Freddie Freeman, 24.1%

The best day ever?

Last time we asked, “Did Shohei Ohtani have the best offensive day in MLB history?” The day he hit six for six with three home runs, two doubles, two steals and 10 RBIs. Based on 8,887 votes:

Yes, 93.8%
No, 6.2%

Next

Tuesday: San Diego (Michael King, 12-9, 3.04 ERA) at Dodgers (Landon Knack, 3-4, 3.39 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Wednesday: San Diego (Dylan Cease, 14-11, 3.42 ERA) at Dodgers (Jack Flaherty, 13-7, 3.10 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Thursday: San Diego (Joe Musgrove, 6-5, 3.95 ERA) at Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 1-6, 5.63 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

*-Left-handed

In case you missed it

The Dodgers' goals for the decisive San Diego series? Win the division and keep up with the Padres' intensity

Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda wants to clarify how he broke his hand

Tyler Glasnow frustrated by recurring elbow problems: “It’s just exhausting”

New book by Shohei Ohtani, documenting his journey from Japan to the Dodgers, now in stores

Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball could be worth $500,000. It slipped through the hands of these fans

Champagne, hugs and T-shirts: Inside the unforgettable night when Shohei Ohtani reached 50-50

Plaschke: Nothing is 50:50. Shohei Ohtani should be unanimously voted NL MVP

And finally

Sandra Koufax Pitches in the 1984 Cracker Jack Oldtimers classic. Watch and listen here.