The San Diego Padres need to be careful about what they ask for: facing a left-handed starting pitcher.
The Padres, who have a lineup heavy with right-handed hitters, are geared to succeed against left-handed pitchers. But after facing five left-handed starters in the first 12 games of the season and compiling a 4-1 record, the Padres didn’t face their sixth lefty starter until Wednesday night in Atlanta, and that game didn’t end well for San Diego.
Neither did Friday night’s game, when Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw and the bullpen held the Padres in check in a 4-3 Los Angeles victory. The Braves, behind lefty Max Fried, beat the Padres 5-1 on Wednesday.
Saturday night, they will face a third southpaw starter in a span of four games when the Dodgers’ Rich Hill (0-0, 1.50 ERA) takes on Padres left-hander Joey Lucchesi (3-2, 4.94) at Petco Park in San Diego.
Fried and Kershaw are two of the best left-handers in the National League now. And the Dodgers on Friday night scored their 15th straight win over the Padres in a game started by Kershaw, dating back to 2013. Kershaw himself is 10-0 in those games but didn’t figure in the decision on Friday.
Hill, however, doesn’t offer the Padres much of a break.
Since joining the Dodgers, Hill is 6-1 against the Padres with a 1.41 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP in eight starts. And he has struck out 65 Padres in 51 innings. In his most recent start against the Padres last Sept. 22 at Dodger Stadium, Hill allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He threw only 93 pitches.
Hill’s 2019 campaign didn’t start until last Sunday. He opened the season on the injured list with a sprained right knee. In his season debut against the Pirates, Hill gave up a run on five hits and no walks while striking out six in six innings.
“The best part was him feeling healthy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The first outing of the season when you are coming off an injury is always tough.”
Meanwhile, Lucchesi struggled against the Dodgers as a rookie in 2018. He was 0-3 with a 8.53 ERA in three starts, giving up 12 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. In fact, he struggled against the entire National League West last season with a 4-10 record and a 4.93 ERA in 19 starts covering 96 2/3 innings.
The Padres are 3-3 in games started by Lucchesi this season. In the three wins, Lucchesi has allowed one run on 12 hits and five walks with 21 strikeouts in 16 innings – a 0.56 ERA and a 1.063 WHIP.
But in his three losses, Lucchesi has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) on 23 hits and five walks with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings – a 9.60 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP.
Before Friday night’s opener of a three-game set that will be played in front of three straight sold-out crowds, Padres manager Andy Green discussed the importance of pairing up against the Dodgers.
“We like our ballclub,” Green said. “We’d like it more if (rookie shortstop) Fernando Tatis Jr. weren’t on the injured list (left hamstring strain). We come back from a winning (4-3) road trip for a very tough challenge. It’s a real test. They have a good club. They have the hottest hitter (Cody Bellinger) in Major League Baseball. I think we’re excited about those challenges. It’s going to be fun.”