Padres: Three things to watch in Dodgers series

The Padres open up a three-game series against the Dodgers at home. Here are three things to watch.

Owners of a 6-4 record and losers of their last two, the Padres welcome in their rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the biggest series on the young season. The Friars won their first series at home, taking three-of-four against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona is a competitive team, but they are far from being one of the top tier teams like the Dodgers are. Los Angeles has made the playoffs in seven consecutive years, but they’ve failed to capture a World Series title. In an effort to change that, they headlined the offseason, acquiring Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox, and extending him to a 12-year deal nearly two weeks ago.

So when the two squads meet on Monday night, here are three things to watch throughout the series.

Will Mookie Betts wreak havoc on the Padres?

Mookie Betts is another player that Padres pitchers will have to navigate around in that Dodger lineup. He left Sunday’s game with a sore finger and is reportedly day-to-day. It’ll be interesting to see if a.) Betts actually plays b.) how well he performs.

Betts only has a six-game sample size against the Padres in his career, posting a .280/.321/.360 line with two doubles and two RBI. He faced the Friars three times in 2019, going 4-for-12 with two RBI in the Red Sox series win at Petco.

The 27-year-old is batting .289 for the Dodgers, going 2-for-3 on Sunday before exiting. He has two home runs and six RBI, giving the Dodgers a legitimate threat at the top of the order.

Should he play, it will be critical for the Padres to limit Mookie’s production.