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In the moments after the Dodgers clinched the National League West with a late-September victory over the Padres, Manny Machado sat at his locker in the visiting clubhouse and made a proclamation.
“No disappointment,” Machado said. “We’re in the postseason. We’re going to see them in a few weeks.”
He wasn’t wrong. For the third time in the past five postseasons, the Dodgers and Padres will meet in the National League Division Series, with Game 1 slated for Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles swept the Padres in 2020, before the Padres exacted their revenge with a four-game victory in 2022. Now, after the two teams staged a dramatic division race that went to the season’s final week, they’ll meet again in October.
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s Game 1.
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 1 of the best-of-five series will be on Saturday at 5:38 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium and will air on FS1.
All games are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV (authentication to a participating Pay TV provider is required). Live games are also available in select countries outside the U.S. For full details, click here.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Padres: RHP Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.47 ERA)
Cease was slated to start Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Atlanta (which never happened). He was mostly sharp down the stretch, posting a 2.97 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in September. His final regular-season start came in L.A., where he allowed three runs over five innings.
Dodgers: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA)
Initially, the Dodgers were going with Jack Flaherty in Game 1, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman announced a switch on Thursday, and L.A. will be going with Yamamoto instead.
These are the moments the Dodgers envisioned when they signed Yamamoto to a record 12-year, $325 million deal this winter. The Japanese right-hander dealt with a right shoulder injury, but was solid when healthy all season long. Giving Yamamoto the ball in Game 1 would allow the right-hander to be available in Game 5, if necessary.
What are the starting lineups?
The Padres haven’t altered their lineup much down the stretch, though they’ve occasionally started David Peralta in place of Solano against certain right-handers, with Arraez shifting to first base. Neither Solano nor Peralta had yet signed with the Padres when they last faced Yamamoto in April.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Padres: By sweeping the Braves in the Wild Card Series, the Padres should have a completely fresh ’pen for Game 1. They’ve used lefty Tanner Scott and righty Jason Adam as the primary high-leverage options to set up closer Robert Suarez. Bryan Hoeing, Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon have all pitched in high-leverage spots, as well.
Dodgers: The Dodgers will be aggressive with their bullpen all postseason long. With the starting pitching being a real question mark for the club, the Dodgers believe their bullpen will be a big strength. Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech will be the big right-handed options for the Dodgers. On the left-hand side, Anthony Banda and Alex Vesia give them more than enough options. Veterans Daniel Hudson, Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier also give them coverage if their starting pitchers don’t have their best stuff early on.
Padres: On Saturday, the Padres officially shut down Ha-Seong Kim, who will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Since Kim’s mid-August injury, Bogaerts has moved back to shortstop, with Cronenworth sliding to second.
Meanwhile, right-hander Joe Musgrove will miss the remainder of the postseason with a UCL tear and will undergo Tommy John surgery. The Padres have not announced a replacement for Musgrove, who would’ve presumably started Game 4 in San Diego.
Dodgers: Freeman is working through a sprained right ankle that he suffered in the Dodgers’ last home game on Sept. 26. The injury forced Freeman to miss the last three games of the regular season and could limit his mobility during the NLDS. Still, Freeman is expected to be in the Dodgers’ lineup.
Rojas is also battling through a tear in his left adductor muscle, an injury he’s been working through for at least a couple of weeks. Rojas was sidelined for the last four regular-season games, but like Freeman, he is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday.
Kershaw has been keeping his arm loose, but a left big toe injury will keep him out of the NLDS unless something drastic changes in the next few days. Kershaw is hopeful to make an appearance at some point in the postseason if the Dodgers have a deep run.
Who is hot and who is not?
Padres: Tatis has opened the postseason on a tear, homering in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series before following it up with three hits in Game 2. Meanwhile, after Profar finished the regular season in a 3-for-20 funk, he recorded only an infield single in two games against Atlanta.
Dodgers: There is no hotter hitter in the sport than Ohtani, who took home back-to-back National League Player of the Week honors to close out the regular season. Ohtani, who became the first player in Major League history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season, put the finishing touches on his MVP campaign by hitting .393 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in September.
Anything else fans might want to know?
