The San Diego Padres are heading to Dodger Stadium, which has become their house of horrors.
Rarely do the Padres play their best baseball in LA
Since 2021, the Padres have a 16-33 record (.327 winning percentage) against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. After an embarrassing three days in Chicago, the Friars arrive in Tinseltown for their first series of the season inside Dodger Stadium. They hope to exorcise the demons that caused them despair from seasons past.
Keep in mind, the Dodgers hold a +55-run differential against the Padres at Dodger Stadium
since 2021. It has allowed them to leverage their home-field advantage over their chief rival.
Often, the Friars’ defense self-destructs in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers take full advantage of the team’s mistakes for easy victories.
San Diego cannot get over the 2024 NLDS defeat
The Friar Faithful have suffered through so many disappointing losses inside Dodger Stadium. But none is bigger than the 2-0 shutout in Game 5 of the 2024 National League Divisional Series. What sunk their hearts was an 8-0 Whitewash in Game 4 at Petco Park.
The Padres were up 2-1 heading into the contest and looking to send the Dodgers home for the holidays. Losing that divisional series has left an indelible mark on the franchise that has been impossible to remove.
Those 24 consecutive shutout innings to close out the series may have been the start of the team’s struggles at the plate.
What is next in the season series
All of their games this season have been played in San Diego, as Los Angeles holds a 4-2 mark in the season series and a 13-game lead in the NL West standings. The crushing defeats have tested the Friar Faithful’s patience to cheer for a directionless, struggling ballclub.
The bats are slumping, and they cannot be buried by the Dodgers once again. The lineup has to show some signs of life. They cannot fade quietly into the night. The Padres have to breathe more life into their season because it is on life support.
No one is asking for a series sweep, but the Friars have to change their fortunes by playing smart baseball and winning a couple of games.
The roster needs to treat Dodger Stadium as another road site on the schedule. The field conditions are ideal for getting on a winning streak.
