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SAN DIEGO, CA - APRIL 09: Aerial views of Petco Park in downtown San Diego during the San Diego Padres game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Petco Park in San Diego, CA. The Dodgers won 2-4 and 0-4. (Photo by Andy Hayt/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS | PADRES |
|---|---|
| Ketel Marte – 2B | Fernando Tatis – RF |
| Geraldo Perdomo – SS | Jackson Merrill – CF |
| Corbin Carroll – RF | Xander Bogaerts – SS |
| Gabriel Moreno – DH | Manny Machado – 3B |
| Max Kepler – LF | Gavin Sheets – DH |
| Nolan Arenado – 3B | Jake Cronenworth – 1B |
| Pavin Smith – 1B | Luis Campusano – C |
| James McCann – C | Samad Taylor – LF |
| Tim Tawa – CF | Sung-Mun Song – 2B |
| Zac Gallen – RHP | Jhony Brito – RHP |
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Let’s see if the D-backs can continue the Padres’ free-fall. On May 18, they beat the Dodgers 1-0, Michael King and two relievers combining on five-hitter. Consequently, the Padres took over first place in the division, with a record of 29-18. It looked possible that we could see a battle for the NL West, the likes of which haven’t happened since 2021, when LA won 106 games, and it still wasn’t enough. Except, since then, the two teams have gone in sharply different directions. The Dodgers have won at a better than .700 rate, going 31-15, while the Padres have been the worst team in baseball, going 15-28, and with the worst run differential over that time to boot.
Consequently, the Dodgers now have a 14-game lead in the division. That’s twice what it was on the same date last season, and the largest on this date since the pre-COVID times in 2019. The division is basically over. Fangraphs gives Los Angeles a 99.9% chance of winning the division, and that may be underselling them. But what happened to the Padres? Their rotation has fallen off a cliff. Over those 43 games, the Padres’ starters have won just seven times – tied for fewest in the majors – with an ERA of 5.29 which ranks 27th in the league. Their offense hasn’t been much better, a .679 OPS ranked 28th (albeit five points better than Arizona!).
It’s certainly not what you’d want given a cash payroll north of $230 million, which is $46 million more than the D-backs. But since San Diego really started spending, entering the top ten in 2020 (where they’ve been every season since, bar 2024), they have finished an average of fourteen games back, and have a losing post-season record at 13-15. If that continues, one wonders how much patience the team’s new owners will have with GM A.J. Preller. He has been in the position since 2014 – longer than anyone save the Yankees’ Brian Cashman – but the team has only made it past the Division Series once in that time.
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