The Padres have 130 games left to play and are, in a lot of ways, just settling into the marathon that is Major League Baseball's regular season. There's really no reason to put any extra emphasis on a 3-game series in early May.
Who am I kidding? This weekend at Petco Park is gonna be EPIC!
The Dodgers are coming to town for the first time since last October, when San Diego "slayed the dragon" by ending L.A.'s season with a 4-game win in the National League Division Series. Games 3 and 4 at Petco Park were electric. The press box was literally shaking from the noise and energy coming from the Friar Faithful (something this author has only experienced on one other occasion that did not involve an actual seismic event).
Sure, this is the regular season. No, it does not mean as much as a postseason meeting. But darnit if these teams aren't treating it like it does.
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"Obviously we overcame that challenge last year but it's a new year, new team. They've got some new guys over there who haven't seen us, we've got guys who haven't seen them," says Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove. "There's been a lot of talk about this series coming up about who's the top dog in the division now but all of it's talk. Friday's the first day we get to get out there and see how the teams match up."
The pitching matchups are not coincidental. Both teams have their biggest arms lined up to try and set the tone for what should be a battle for the NL West that lasts deep into September. Just take a look at this and tell me it doesn't scream "this series means more than your typical early season set" because I will not believe you:
FRIDAY
Clayton Kershaw vs. Joe Musgrove
Local
SATURDAY
Dustin May vs. Yu Darvish
SUNDAY
Julio Urias vs. Blake Snell
That's five All-Stars and May, who is 25 years old and probably going to be an All-Star more than once. Both teams made sure to tinker with their rotations to make sure they're putting their best foot forward, and nobody can blame them.
Right now the Dodgers are where they're used to being: in first place. They've won six straight and lead the Padres by two games (with the Diamondbacks wedged between the two but nobody expects them to stay there all year). However, the Friars seem to be waking up from an early season malaise. Juan Soto is starting to look like the Hall of Fame talent he was in Washington. But, perhaps most important, San Diego has Fernando Tatis Jr. back.
The Padres are 8-4 since Tatis returned to the lineup after going 9-11 without him. They're scoring more runs and having a whole lot more fun (aided by the addition of a sombrero). The crowds at Petco Park are always lively when the Dodgers head south. This time, though? In the first game since that playoff win? With a legitimate chance to finish ahead of Los Angeles in the standings for the first time since 2010? It's gonna be wild.
"The crowd's going to be a little more excited," says Musgrove. "It'll be a full house. As a player you try not to add much more intensity or much more pressure to the moment. I think you try to tap into it a little bit and use it to your advantage to get the adrenaline going, go out there and have a good performance."
Even more than the fans, Tatis is going to be a giant bundle of kinetic energy. He was suspended for last year's festivities and has been pretty darn good against the Dodgers. In 36 career starts he's hit 13 homers and slugged .570 against the Padres bitter rivals.
And yes, although it took a while to get on equal footing, this is now a legitimate rivalry.
"They're a great baseball team. We're a great baseball team," says Tatis Jr. "We're just going to play great baseball out there and see how it unfolds."
Even if things go haywire for either team this weekend, they won't have to dwell on it for very long. They play again next weekend when the Padres head up Interstate 5 for a 3-game series at Dodger Stadium.
LISTEN: With NBC 7 San Diego's Darnay Tripp and Derek Togerson behind the mic, On Friar will cover all things San Diego Padres. Interviews, analysis, behind-the-scenes...the ups, downs, and everything in between. Tap here to find On Friar wherever you listen to podcasts.
