標籤: Dodgers

Starting Monday night, one of the best rivalries in Major League Baseball returns. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will face off at Petco Park for a three-game set. The teams have dueled for first place in the National League West for most of the year. Both teams won on Sunday, giving the Dodgers a half-game lead over San Diego. One of them will leave the series alone atop the NL West, but who has the edge?

on the mound

• Monday: Michael King (SD) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
• Tuesday: Griffin Canning (SD) vs. Emmett Sheehan (LAD)
• Wednesday: Randy Vasquez (SD) vs. Shohei Ohtani (LAD)

Monday’s game proves to be the most viable pitchers duel of the three, with King and Yamamoto facing off in a battle of the aces. The former has boasted a 2.63 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his first nine starts. King has been a reliable player for San Diego. Yamamoto, on the other hand, has looked a little rough lately (which is hard to say for a pitcher with a 3.60 ERA). He has scored 11 runs in his last three matches. Yamamoto and the Dodgers will be hoping to bounce back in tonight’s series opener.

Canning and Sheehan both had breakout 2025 campaigns, posting respective ERAs of 3.77 (16 starts) and 2.82 (12 starts). He has not been that good this year with scores of 10.64 and 4.54. Canning’s sample size is very small across three sports. His debut was very good (1 ER, 5.0 IP) but he has been bad since then (12 ER, 6.0 IP). To win the second game, they will have to survive Los Angeles’ strong lineup.

Ohtani has been the best starting pitcher in all of MLB. He boasts a 0.82 ERA in 44 innings. This means he will not be in the lineup for Los Angeles. Vasquez hasn’t been as good, but still has a career-best 2.68 ERA. San Diego hopes to have the two face off in a pitchers duel. Vasquez will have to hold his own against the Dodgers’ lineup if the Friars are to win.

starting lineup

Both the lineups have struggled to score runs recently. Both lineups broke into one Big Way this weekend. The Dodgers defeated the Los Angeles Angels 31–3, while San Diego defeated the Seattle Mariners 17–7. This was a huge success for two clubs who have been weak offensively over the past few weeks.

This should (hopefully) turn out to be a high-scoring series in the pitcher-friendly environment of Petco Park. The Padres won the last series at Petco Park, although the Friars were defeated by Los Angeles, 10–9.

player to watch

Recently there have been some heated clashes between the two sides. They will hope to continue that streak of success in this week’s series against their division rivals. Here are some things to look for on each side:

Gavin Sheets

Sheets has had a remarkable stretch with the Padres. He hit 19 home runs in 2025 and found his stride after a mostly average season with the Chicago White Sox. He leads the Friars with nine homers (four of which have come in his last five games!), and is on pace for 35 home runs. Although it is high, he could easily complete 20 passes for the first time in his young career.

miguel andujar

Andujar was signed at the end of the offseason for just $3 million, which will serve as platoon and valuable bench depth at the designated hitter spot. That’s too much. The Padres’ best hitter is slashing .291/.313/.480 entering Monday’s game. He has four RBI in his last seven games and has provided several big opportunities for San Diego.

shohei ohtani

Just because he’s only hitting in two out of three games doesn’t mean he can’t perform well. Although Ohtani has been one of the best starters in the league, he has been below average at the plate. That changed in a big way against Anaheim, with Ohtani going 6 for 13 with three walks over the weekend. If he can keep this up, it would be a big boost for the series and the LA season.

teoscar hernandez

Hernandez had a similarly hot weekend after an all-time low in the season. He went 4 for 12 with a walk, a home run and five RBI in the three-game series. He remains a legitimate power threat at the plate but has actually batted more for average recently. Over his last seven games he has batted .407. This might seem like another hot streak, but he’s also batting .327 in his last 15 games. This reads more as quality contact than a random bounce.

call to the bullpen

The Dodgers (somewhat surprisingly) have a better bullpen ERA than the Padres. He has a 3.06 ERA compared to San Diego’s 3.81 mark. That being said, the Friars have had to cover far more innings (205.1) than Los Angeles (144.1). And ERA isn’t a particularly good indicator of who is better, but it is a helpful benchmark for run prevention.

The Padres have an array of high-leverage relievers, headlined by closers Mason Miller, Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morezon and rookie flamethrower Bradgley Rodriguez. Those guys got plenty of comfort this weekend when San Diego’s starters managed to cover 16 innings against Seattle. If the Dodgers hope to win the game they will need to build a lead with the Friars starter out.

Although newcomer Edwin Diaz won’t be pitching for Los Angeles in the near future, Tanner Scott has surprisingly filled the closer’s role quite well. Scott boasts a 1.47 ERA after a disappointing 2025 season. Behind him are Will Klein and Alex Vessia. Klein has solidified himself as a key reliever in his second season with LA veteran Blake Treinen, struggling but still owning a serviceable 3.68 ERA. Other than those four, the Dodgers are short on depth, but not as bad at leaving late games as the 2025 group.

Despite the massive injury problems facing the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching rotation, they still decided to designate Eric Lauer for the job last week. Now, the left-hander has found a new life with none other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In return, Toronto gets the old standby, “cash consideration.”

With a 9-2 record, Lauer did everything the Blue Jays could from him during the 2025 season. He was a starter for half the year, and in 15 starts, he had a good 3.77 ERA with 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings. He was then moved to the bullpen, which was not his first choice, but he adapted to it. big time. He posted a 1.76 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He also made five strong appearances in the postseason in that role with a 3.12 ERA.

In fact, Dodgers fans from Chavez Ravine will remember Lauer for his stellar performance in the Game Three 18-inning marathon. He came on in the 12th inning and pitched 4.2 scoreless innings on 68 pitches, allowing only two hits.

It seems the Dodgers have made a mental note of the 5.2 scoreless innings that Lauer threw in the two World Series games against them.

Lauer joins the Dodgers with a 6.69 ERA this season

But 2026 has been a whole new game for Lauer. No matter what role he played, the southpaw couldn’t bring it together. He has a 6.69 ERA overall. In six starts, he posted a 6.15 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, with a strikeout to walk ratio of only 18:13. In two stints in the bullpen, it was even uglier, with an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings. He surrendered a league-leading 11 homers in his eight contests.

But the 30-year-old has seen ups and downs in his eight-year career and has often come back stronger. It would surprise no one if the Dodgers were able to get the lefty back to his winning ways.

The Dodgers are in desperate need of help in the rotation. Blake Snell went back to the IL after only one appearance, and Tyler Glasnow is also currently out due to back spasms. Reports are that Lauer will initially serve as a length option in the bullpen when he joins the team this week, but as he progresses, a spot in the rotation will certainly be on the table.

For his career, Lauer has a 4.26 ERA with 8.5 K/9 in 737.2 innings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been a juggernaut for several years now. They have won consecutive World Series titles and are in the running for their third title. They will be the first National League team in history to do so. This is largely due to a roster that doesn’t have too many weak links. Sure, the bullpen isn’t always spectacular, but it’s often pretty solid. Yet one area has remained a point of concern in recent years: the outfield.

That doesn’t mean their outfield is bad – far from it. The Dodgers solved most of their problems this offseason by signing top free agent Kyle Tucker. This was a huge achievement which led to a significant improvement in their outfield group. But there isn’t much certainty behind Tucker and up-and-comer Andy Paige.

Sure, Teoscar Hernandez may slip from time to time, but his age is starting to show. Behind him are unproven commodities like Alex Call and Hyesong Kim, both of whom have struggled to produce consistently at the big league level.

business for young talents

Enter Alec Thomas. The 26-year-old center fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks was recently designated for assignment to make room for top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt. He has made a good start and now looks like he could permanently replace Thomas in the outfield.

On Tuesday morning, the Dodgers traded for Alec Thomas, reducing the possibility of Jose Requena to Arizona. In the same move, the Dodgers DFA optioned outfielder Michael Siani to make room for Thomas on the 40-man roster. Requena was signed by Los Angeles in last year’s international signing class. He has not yet made his professional debut.

This is a move that immediately improves the Dodgers’ outfield depth in several ways. For one, Thomas is in control of the club until 2028. That means Los Angeles can keep him at a relatively low price over the next two and a half years. It’s worthwhile to get a typical defensive glove with a solid – and potentially much better – bat at that price.

Thomas has shown signs of an offensive breakout. In 2025, he posted a career-high .249/.289/.370 slash line with a respectable .659 OPS. Those numbers were much better than his usual numbers, indicating a step forward in 2026. But this has not happened. Instead, Thomas is off to the worst start of his career, batting .181 in 28 games this season. He will serve as depth in Triple-A for the Dodgers. Behind Andy Paige, Los Angeles lacked a true backup option in center field. Thomas could fill that role if anything happens with Paige.

The St. Louis Cardinals showed with a new stadium deal that they care more about the fan experience at their games than the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers ever will.

Payroll and player salaries have spiraled out of control in MLB over the past six years. That is why there is speculation that there could be a lockout after the 2026 season. Still, when teams spend huge sums of money to build their rosters to win games, it’s the fans who really pay the price.

While salaries have increased drastically this decade, the price of tickets to see some of the most popular teams in baseball has also increased. Teams like the LA Dodgers ($177), NY Yankees ($105), Houston Astros ($133), Boston Red Sox ($132), and Chicago Cubs ($108) had the most expensive average ticket prices last season.

Still, one beloved franchise that often tries to avoid assessing value to its fans is the Cardinals. Last year, the average price to see a game at Busch Stadium was $88 – the 16th highest price in the league. With the franchise rebuilding, they clearly didn’t consider raising prices this year.

However, they have gone even further to make the fan experience more entertaining for fans during a difficult season.

Cardinals are offering $29 unlimited concession deal in 2026

This year, the Cardinals will offer a unique concession deal. For just $29, a fan can get unlimited Coke beverage products, unlimited hot dogs, unlimited peanuts, unlimited bratwursts, unlimited nachos, unlimited fries, unlimited chips, and unlimited other options. Of course, this doesn’t include the ticket price.

However, if you’re trying to bring a family to a game and keep everyone happy with some enjoyable food, it can get pretty pricey at an MLB ballpark. However, if you go to a Cardinals game this season you can load up a family of four for about $120. Additionally, there are several games this season where you can find seats in the $50 range.

While it won’t make the game on the field any better, the Cardinals are trying to do something to make ball games at Busch Stadium more enjoyable for families. It’s a deal that the LA Dodgers, NY Yankees and many other big-market clubs will never make as their goal is to make big money from tickets and concessions this summer.

Hopefully, if this is a hit, it will embarrass those clubs into trying something similar for their fans in future seasons.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

Pete Crowe-Armstrong will give Los Angeles Dodgers fans reason to make him Public Enemy No. 1 when the Chicago Cubs visit LaLa Land in April.

In his second full season in the big leagues, the man nicknamed PCA took Chicago sports by storm. After an up-and-down 2024, the former New York Mets prospect took a big step forward last season. Posting 31 homers, 95 runs batted-in, 91 runs batted in, and 35 stolen bases. Additionally, his slugging and OPS were up nearly .100 points from the previous season.

The outfielder walked away with a lot of upside from a prospect that the organization was still developing for a starting MVP candidate in 2025. The 23-year-old has become the new face of the franchise, and unsurprisingly, he has been a top focus of the Chicago media in Spring Training. Along with this also comes a lot of interviews ahead of the new season.

In a new conversation with Chicago Magazine, PCA talked about his love for Chicago and its sports fans. While doing so, he took an interesting shot at one of his home-state teams. The current big evil of MLB, the LA Dodgers.

Pete Crowe-Armstrong claims LA Dodgers fans come to games only to take photos

“I love Chicago,” Crowe-Armstrong said. “It’s an incredible city. The people are great. They give a shit. They’re not just baseball fans who go to the games to take pictures and do whatever, like Dodgers fans. They’re paying attention. They care.”

This comment would further endear him to Cubs fans, and his honesty is part of his unique charm. However, baseball fans in LA will definitely be tuning in for a three-game set when Chicago visits Chavez Ravine in late April.

Although the comments will be stinging, they will not necessarily be baseless. While Los Angeles has millions of dedicated sports fans, the group has always had a reputation for coming to games late and having a very casual attitude about loving their teams.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired longtime Los Angeles Dodgers executive Lon Rosen as president of business operations, the organization announced Thursday, continuing a comprehensive restructuring under new majority owner Mark Walter.

ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reported the move to Rosen began his career as a Lakers intern during college.

Rosen’s appointment follows Tim Harris’ decision to step down after the 2025-26 season. Harris spent more than 35 years with the franchise and The Forum and played a central role in securing the team’s lucrative local television rights agreement with Spectrum SportsNet. His departure marks the end of one of the longest executive tenures in franchise history.

The leadership change comes amid broader organizational changes. Earlier this season, Joey and Jesse Buss were dismissed from their executive positions, along with most of the Lakers’ scouting department, as part of a revised front office structure.

The overhaul follows the historic $10 billion sale approved in late October, when the Busch family sold a majority stake in the team to Walter. Walter, who also leads the Dodgers’ ownership group, has overseen a period of sustained success in Major League Baseball. Under his leadership, the Dodgers have captured three World Series titles, including back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025.

The Lakers return to action against the Los Angeles Clippers (26-28) on Friday night at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN. Los Angeles enters the matchup 33-21, seeded fifth in the Western Conference as it begins the final stretch of the regular season.