The San Diego Padres look to face the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend in one of the most anticipated series since the start of the season, which includes team star Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres closed out their seven-game streak with a resounding 8-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates to tie the game in the four-game series after the Buccaneers won the middle games.
More than victory, the best news he has received on the new frontier is that Tatis has taken a beating practice and, according to manager Jayce Tingler, hopes to activate it on Friday for the start of the series against the Dodgers, fierce rivals in the Division National League.
The Dominican shortstop suffered a partial dislocation of the shoulder when he swayed on April 5. The condition seemed to mark the early end of the season for Tatis, just weeks after signing a 14-year, $ 341 million contract, but medical evaluations showed the injury did not require surgery, but only rest and rehabilitation.
“We just need to check a few things with our medical team,” Tingler anticipated after the Pittsburgh duel. “We are optimistic that (Fernando) has a good chance of being ready to play tomorrow (Friday).”
For the parents, the return of Tatis is great news, given that they have outstanding accounts with the Dodgers, which overcome the barrier they received in the second round of last season.
The Dodgers have won the division’s flag in eight consecutive seasons and in the last 10 seasons, they have won the annual series against Padres.
“It will be a good test for us,” said Padres’ first member, Eric Hosmer. “It will be fun to start the first of many series against these guys (Dodgers), but they won the right to be named the best baseball team. They won the right to be at the head of the division. “
San Diego has built around Tatis, Manny Machado and a stellar pitcher crew a team that seems to have the ability to compete with Major League champions.
In the 2020 season, Padres tried, but had to settle for winning the playoff ticket as a wild-card team.
The 22-year-old Tatis was one of the main reasons San Diego made the playoffs, hitting .277 with 17 homers, 45 RBI, 50 points and 11 steals in 59 of the 60 of games this season. Abbreviated for the coronavirus pandemic.
His performance placed Tatis in fourth place in the national MVP vote.
Padres (9-5), in the middle of a series of seven games without rest, enters the weekend series against the Dodgers after winning five of the seven games on the road and is in third place in the West. Nacional, behind the San Francisco Giants (8-4) and two Dodgers games (10-2).
Left-handed rookie Ryan Weather (1-0, 1.50), the Padres’ fifth-best prospect, will make his first major league debut in Friday’s game against the Dodgers and face right-hander Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.50). ).).
“I hope (the weather) attacks, throws shots and gives us a chance to win,” Tingler said. “There is a reason we trust him a lot and we are delighted with him.”
On Saturday, the Dodgers will send ace Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 2.89) on the mound to face Japanese star Yu Darvish (1-0, 3.06).
To close out the series on Sunday, Blake Snell (0-0, 4.35) will have his first start since facing the Dodgers in the World Series, when he was part of the Tampa Bay Rays rotation, and will face Trevor Bauer (2- 0, 2.70).