Dodgers to meet Padres in NLDS for second time in three years

The Padres swept the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card round and will face Los Angeles in the playoffs for the third time since 2020.

Los Angeles struggled this year against the Padres, only winning five of the 13 meetings between the two clubs. The Padres also knocked out the Dodgers the last time they met in the playoffs in 2022. 

Dylan Cease, who has been the Padres best starter all year, is set to take the ball in Game 1. Cease pitched 10.2 innings in two starts against the Dodgers this year, allowing four runs and striking out 10. 

The Dodgers announced both their Game 1 and Game 2 starting pitchers. Jack Flaherty will take the mound in the first game and will be followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Game 3 would presumably be started by either Walker Buehler or rookie Landon Knack. 

The Dodgers have used the extra days off to rest some of their injured players, such as Freddie Freeman, Miguel Rojas and Clayton Kershaw.

Freeman twisted his ankle on Sept. 26 and didn't play in the final series of the regular season. Rojas injured his groin while running the bases a day before Freeman’s injury. 

Manager Dave Roberts said that both players are progressing in their recovery and expects both of them to be in the starting lineup in game one. 

Kershaw, who has been out since Aug. 31 with a bone spur in his left toe, was expected to be ready for the postseason. However, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, he has not healed as fast as the team would have hoped and is not close to facing live hitters.

The Dodgers are looking to make it out of the NLDS for the first time since 2021.