After grabbing Game 1 with some late offense, the Dodgers won an explosive Game 2 of the NLDS by the skin of their teeth. A 6-3 lead heading to the ninth inning ended up 6-5 with the Padres leaving the bases loaded and that’s without even mentioning the heroics required to escape the seventh inning with the lead. Things now move forward to Game 3 in what could be a sweep.
Let’s check out the pertinent details for Game 3.
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Oct. 8 | Time: 9:08 p.m. ET
Location: Globe Life Field (Arlington, Texas)
TV: MLB Network | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Odds: LAD -170; SDP +155; O/U: 9.5
Pitchers: TBD vs. LHP Adrian Morejon
Follow: CBS Sports App
Preview
Hey, the Padres have been here before, kind of. Last week, they trailed the Cardinals 1-0 in a best-of-three series. They trailed for most of Game 2 before breaking through and winning two games with their backs against the wall in order to advance to the NLDS. The difference here is the Cards were a mediocre team while the Dodgers in 2020 have gone 47-17 in the regular season and playoffs combined. This is a huge climb for the upstart Padres.
The good news on the Padres’ end is they showed great fight late in Game 2 and the back-end of the Dodgers’ bullpen appears vulnerable. Plus, they have nothing to lose. It looks like it’ll be a bullpen game, but they threw a shutout against the Cardinals in Game 3 last round in a similar situation (their good arms are actually more rested this time).
On the Dodgers’ end, by no means is there any urgency here, but you also don’t want to give a pesky and powerful team with swagger like the Padres any reason to think they have life in this series. The task at hand is to get this thing over with and start thinking about the NLCS.
Prediction
The Dodgers are the better and deeper team while the Padres have had to scramble around injuries to their two best starting pitchers so far in the series. There’s every reason to believe the Dodgers just close things out, except one. After watching these Padres all season, I just can’t wrap my head around their 2020 story ending in a sweep, especially with the way the late innings unfolded in Game 2. The Padres find a way to extend this thing, somehow.
