October 3rd, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka For quite some time, the San Diego Padres have been at or near the bottom of the National League West. In fact, they have not made into the postseason since 2006 and were a team that the Dodgers often counted on to snap a losing streak.
Not anymore.
Although the Mookie Betts / Corey Seager-led Dodgers finished the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season with an MLB-best 43-17 record and a 6-4 record against the friars, the Fernando Tatis Jr. / Manny Machado-led Padres were not those Padres. Instead, they proved to be the Dodgers’ toughest division rival this season. (Note: The Dodgers also finished the 2020 regular season with a 6-4 record against San Francisco, but the Giants finished 14 games behind them in the final NL West final standings).
On Friday evening, the Fernando Tatis Jr. / Manny Machado-led Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game-3 of the best-of-three NL Wild Card Series – rather handily – to advance to the National League Division Series … against the Dodgers.
As every Dodger and baseball fan knows, the Dodgers finished the 60-game 2020 regular season with an MLB-best 118 home runs, with Betts and outfielder AJ Pollock tied for the team lead at 16 apiece. However (and you had to know a ‘however’ was coming), Tatis Jr. finished the season with 17 home runs and Machado 16. Additionally, the Pads finished the truncated season with a combined 95 home runs, fourth-most in all of baseball.
The point here is, of course, that on paper, the Dodgers were the best team in all of baseball during the regular season. But the regular season is now but a memory. When the Dodgers and Padres meet at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX on Tuesday for Game-1 of the best-of-five NLDS, their respective records will be 0-0.
In other words, it’s an entirely new ballgame.
…literally.
Play Ball!
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I’ve been dreading this series since the regular season ended. To me, it looks like the Dodgers have a tough time coming up. But it always looks that way to me, Doesn’t it?
Old B. We got this. We are going to beat the Pads. No worries.
The Dodgers pitching will be able to withstand a 5 game series, especially with no off days. The Padres won’t be able to do bullpen games over a 5 day span unlike their 3 days with the Cardinals.
Unless Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet can come back healthy…(which is less sure than Buehler’s blister…) If not the Dodgers should be heavily favored. BUT, I have to admit that I’d give the Padres lineup a slight edge (only after their amazingly clutch and powerful performance in the St Louis series before which I thought that we were equal…). But we have the edge in pitching… BUT our potential Achilles heal is the starting pitching: it could be the best in Baseball or it could fall apart – we will see won’t we !?!
Actually I’m glad that we have a worthy opponent (and seemingly a new division rival for years to come… that will make for more interesting games during the regular season AND Post-Season > think Lakers/Celtics…). If we can run the gauntlet with the Padres and come out alive and healthy, we’ll be battle tested and ready to defeat the Yankees or the Rays (or the ASTERISKs !?!?!)