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All this hype about the Padres coming this season?
the Dodgers It made her look like a bunch of hot air for the past 10 days.
After pulling off a series win in San Diego last weekend, the Dodgers emphatically swept their National League Western rivals this weekend. Los Angelesand earned their fifth straight win over the Padres, and fifth straight win overall, with a 4-0 shutout on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Instead of running away with the division crown, as many pundits predicted going into the season, the Padres are seven games behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings.
Instead of capitalizing on their success in the postseason in October – when they seemed to tip the scales in the competition with the An upset of the Dodgers’ 111-win National League Series The Padres quickly slipped to third place with a star-studded roster that still disappoints.
“It’s nice to play good baseball against a team like that,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Put some distance between us and them.”
On paper, some will still be watching Padres (19-22) as a better, deeper team. And with three-quarters of the season remaining, the Dodgers (26-15) haven’t quite pulled away from their Southern California foes entirely.
But up until this point in the year, the club’s contrast has been ambivalent nonetheless — the Dodgers once again looking like baseball’s version of blue-chip stock, just as the Padres have swung around like a volatile, bust-prone fake digital currency.
“I don’t think we ever felt like we were the underdogs,” Roberts said when asked about pre-season perceptions of the teams. “The most important thing is to play baseball games and see who has the best team. I have always loved our club.”
Sunday’s game was the most one-sided game the clubs had yet to play.
After missing most of April with a sprained ankle, he started for the Dodgers Tony Jonsulin He qualified during his fourth start of the season. Right handed (1-1) Two hits and a walk in five innings were fumbled. hit six. He lowered his earned run average to 1.42, and continued to rediscover his All-Star form from last year.
“I thought my fastball driving was some of the best it’s been since I debuted in ’19,” said Gonsolin, who also showed an increase in his fastball speed reaching 95 mph. “Health-wise, I feel good. Building more confidence every day. Just trusting that everything is working.”
The bottom of the Dodgers bullpen was also lifted, with Monty forgetsVictor Gonzalez, Brosdar graterol And Justin Broell has limited the Padres to three starters over the last four innings.
“Men are beginning to understand their roles and what is expected,” said Roberts. “It takes time to integrate that with a new team. And I think we hit our stride.”
Mookie Pets Miguel Vargas provided a wide offense. Bates opened the scoring on a two-run homer in the third. Vargas doubled his lead twice in the sixth.
And after improving to 13-2 in their last 15 games, the Dodgers finished the day with a Best record in the National Leaguebypass Atlanta Braves Barely two weeks removed from the pesky .500 season start.
“It’s a long season, and I think we’re just playing ball,” Bates said. “We have a really good team and we’re putting it on display.”
When asked if the Dodgers cheered them up their recent two-week stretch, Bates answered the question as a matter of perspective.
“I think from the outside, there was definitely some question as to what was going on,” he said of the club’s early 13-13 record.
“I suspect [this recent run] Might be more cheering to you guys,” with a mob of media surrounding his safe.
However, on the internal front, “we knew what we were capable of,” Bates explained. “We know what we can do.”
And lately, the Dodgers have been showing it against everyone they faced, leaving even the once-favored Padres faltering in their wake.
Roberts said that despite his mother, Marian, passing away on Saturday, Clayton Kershaw still plans to make his next scheduled start for the Dodgers on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins.
“He’s doing a good job,” Roberts said before Sunday’s Mother’s Day game. “I am sure that this is a day on which he has a heavy heart. But as far as I understand, it will start on Tuesday.”
Kershaw declined to discuss the situation on Sunday, but Roberts suggested the 35-year-old could be far from the squad on the bereavement list after his start on Tuesday.
“It’s not surprising,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s desire to play. “And then, once he starts, I’m sure there will be some things that will happen that he’ll be involved in, ceremony or service, if that’s what they’ve chosen.”
Roberts also confirmed that Noah Syndergaard is on his way to play Monday night against Minnesota after fighting a blister over the past week — though the Dodgers scratched prospect Gavin Stone from starting triple-aside on Sunday to give themselves a backup plan in case any of their pitchers make changes.
This story originally appeared Los Angeles Times.
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