Padres vs Dodgers Odds, Picks for Game 2 of NLDS MLB Playoffs

Padres vs. Dodgers Game 2 Odds

The Dodgers were the one division winner that did not appear to have any rust or start slow after multiple off days as they came out of the gates firing against Mike Clevinger. On top of the early run support, Julio Urias was excellent before handing it off to the bullpen, which shut down the Padres from there.

Tonight, we are in for a treat as two of the game's best will take the mound. The first to take the ball will be Clayton Kershaw. While Kershaw is infamous for his postseason struggles, the Padres are a team he is very familiar with and has had extended success against. However, that familiarity could work both ways.

Opposing him for San Diego will be Yu Darvish. This season, Darvish was a dominant bulldog, and he pulled out his entire bag of tricks in the Wild Card Round series against the New YorkMets. He kept one of the best lineups in baseball off balance all night, and he will need to repeat that performance if he wants to even up this series for his team.

Who will come out on top in this pitcher's duel? Let's take a closer look to find out.

Padres Need Big Bats To Step Up

The San Diego Padres have been carried by the bottom third of their order in the postseason, and those three men stayed hot last night. Trent Grisham, Ha-Seong Kim and Austin Nola have stepped up. However, the issue is the top of the order has not. Manny Machado and Juan Soto were a combined 1-for-7 and Josh Bell went 0-for-2 as a pinch hitter as he did not start with the lefty Urias on the mound.

The big bats in this lineup have not come around, and with Kershaw on the mound, the entire order may be in for a quiet night. Kershaw faced these Padres twice this season and dominated in both outings. In all, he threw 12 innings, allowed one run and struck out 11 batters. However, both of those outings took place before the trade deadline. This means Soto and Bell were not a part of the lineup.

Being divisional rivals, Kershaw has seen a lot of this Padres club over the years and has amassed 200 plate appearances combined. Overall, they have hit just .180 and have a 27 percent strikeout rate. In addition to those poor numbers, their quality of contact has not been great, and they are due for very little, if any, positive regression in this matchup. San Diego's xBA against Kershaw is .196.

Some notable bats to point out in that sample size are Machado, who is 9-for-35 with three home runs. Then there is Juan Soto, who is 1-for-8 in his career with three strikeouts. Lastly, Bell has yet to get a hit off Kershaw in five career matchups and likely won't start tonight again.

If Kershaw is on tonight, it could be a very long night for the Padres.

Can Darvish Tame LA's Offense?

We saw just what made the Dodgers the best team in baseball on Tuesday as they jumped on Mike Clevinger and built a 5-0 lead after the first three innings. However, tonight may look very different as Darvish has been a puzzle the Dodgers only solved once this season.

The Dodgers saw Darvish four times this season, and in three of those outings, he was excellent as he threw quality starts and struck out at least seven in each of them. However, they did get to him on July 2nd as he allowed five earned runs, but he still went six innings and struck out 10 batters.

Overall, Darvish is much like his counterpart in that he has a long track record of success against this lineup. In 182 combined at-bats, the Dodgers have hit just .192 and have a staggering 31.6 percent strikeout rate. Now, a few guys have had some success, and those men are Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, but aside from them, there is not much upside shown in the numbers against Darvish.

However, the Dodgers' xBA may be low at .213, but they've slugged .374 against Darvish, which means they may only need a handful of extra-base hits to get on the board and give Kershaw the minimal amount of run support he needs.

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Padres-Dodgers Pick

This is the pitching matchup we all wanted to see out of this series, and it should live up to the hype. Both starters have incredible track records against their opposing lineups, and both have been very sharp of late.

While I give the edge to the Dodgers, the best way to play this matchup is to take the under. Kershaw and Darvish should each throw at least six innings and combine for a lot of zeros.

Pick: Under 7