San Diego has avoided typical injury attrition; L.A., though deep, has taken recent hits to pitchers and position players
as a near toss-up, largely because the contrasting health of the respective teams has narrowed some of the massive gap the Dodgers have long enjoyed.
L.A. lacks Walker Buehler, one of the better postseason pitchers of recent years. A stubborn elbow injury scrapped the plan to bring him back late this season. Versatile Chris Taylor, a longtime pain in the Padres’ side, both as a hitter and outfielder, developed neck issues as well, calling his postseason availability into question. His bat ailed most of this season, producing a strikeout once every 2.5 at-bats and a .304 on-base percentage.
Max Muncy is a tough-minded hitter whose adjusted OPS placed 22 percent above MLB average; however, he batted under .200 for the second season in three years. Outfielder Trayce Thompson’s breakout this summer at age 31 rewarded rare resilience, but a familiar flaw surfaced during a September in which he batted .208 with 34 strikeouts in 72 at-bats.
Give the Padres a much better shot against the Dodgers in this playoff series than the one two years ago, in which they were swept in three games, for the simple reason their starting pitching is infinitely more capable this time. There’s no comparison between those rotations, and that includes San Diego’s Game 1 starter in both series, Mike Clevinger.
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