San Diego Padres: Impossible task looming in Los Angeles

The San Diego Padres will face the Dodgers this weekend, a truly insane task. We break down the pitching matchups and evaluate the Friars’ chances.

The Padres seem to have lost a little bit of the swagger which guided them to a winning month of July. With a slow start to August culminating in a very rough series against the lowly Reds in Cincinnati, it only gets tougher for San Diego as they now face the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are an insane 81-33, running away with not only the National League West division title but the top overall seed in the NL. There couldn’t be a much more lopsided matchup on paper. Can the Padres hold their own and come out with even a single victory much less triumph in the series this weekend?

Friday, 7:10 PM: Clayton Richard

The series opener features the most inconsistent starter the Padres have. Clayton Richard‘s season has taken a major turn for the worse, and his stats now speak to just how much the veteran left-hander has struggled as a whole in 2017. With a 5-12 record and 5.17 ERA, the Friars should be very disappointed in the southpaw they worked so hard to sign this offseason.

While Richard may not give up a lot of free passes, he has surrendered the most hits of any pitcher in the National League. Richard gives up an average of almost eight hits a start and 180 total this season. Dodger hitters have to be excited to turn loose against Richard, given the opportunity to pad their stats which lies in front of them.

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Saturday, 6:10 PM: Jhoulys Chacin

Fans likely remember Opening Day, when Jhoulys Chacin got the nod and had an outing to forget. Since then, Chacin has come a long way, and has been one of the club’s more consistent starters.

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Now, the offseason addition has an opportunity to reverse his fortunes against the sizzling L.A. lineup. A difficult task, of course, but one that Chacin is up for. He will need support from the offense, and possibly some luck. If this doesn’t happen for Chacin, the Padres could be entering the finale merely trying to salvage a game in the series.

Sunday, 1:10 PM: Luis Perdomo

The starters for the Dodgers have not yet been named for any of the three games in the series. Though this uncertainty makes previewing the matchups a more difficult task, what we do know is that Luis Perdomo is starting on Sunday. And for the Padres, though no one would have anticipated this early in the season, this is good news.

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Perdomo has evened his record at 6-6 and has held his ERA under 5 thanks to a strong June. Even more impressive, the 24-year-old has taken the show on the road. He used to only find success within the friendly confines of Petco Park, but has now developed the confidence to step into a matchup like this with confidence.

The Padres will be fortunate to be in a position to win the series entering this game considering how hot the Dodgers are. The good news is, Perdomo is the hot hand right now that the Friars would love to trot out there in an attempt to play spoiler against the division leaders.

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The Padres would like to avoid a 1-6 road trip. The problem is, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball. Andy Green will definitely have his team fired up in what should be a very emotional series. The only question is, will that be enough. We sure hope so. Go Friars!