Sunday Night Baseball Offers A Chance For High Scoring Game

Padres vs. Dodgers, 7:00 ET

Sunday Night Baseball is back and brings us a nice matchup between division rivals. When you think of money being spent in Major League Baseball, these are two of the clubs you think of. The Dodgers seem to have unlimited funds, and yes, it has produced one World Series victory. The Padres are not very shy about spending money, but due to recent results, it does seem like they are a bit more hesitant about it now than before. Tonight, the two teams square off as we get an evening of baseball between the Padres and the Dodgers.

The Padres are hanging around looking for something, anything, to jumpstart their season. I know it is early and there are a lot of games remaining, but for a team that struggled much of last season, I feel that them getting off to a good start is more crucial than almost anyone in the league. So far, a roughly .500 record is at least not making a big ditch to climb out of, but I am a believer this team needs to find a new voice in order to win. Something has to change at least. There is too much talent to just accept that the team is average. Tonight they have their Ace going for them, Yu Darvish as he takes the mound looking to make his fifth start of the young season. Darvish already had an outing against the Dodgers in the season opener in South Korea. In that game, he went 3.2 innings and allowed just two hits and one unearned run. It seems that he has been on a bit of a pitch count to start the season as he hasn't thrown more than 82 pitches in any of his first few games. Historically, Darvish has gotten the best of the Dodgers as he has held their team to a .203 average collectively. Sure, Freddie Freeman has done some damage against him, but he's one of the few that I'd say you can count on to perform well.  

Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts (50) celebrates with designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after hitting a home run during the third inning of an opening day game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers are good, as you'd expect with a lineup that has three perirenal MVP candidates bolstering it. It isn't quite a "Murderer's Row" situation, but I can't say I'd be excited about facing Mookie Betts, Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani for nine innings. That doesn't even mention guys like Will Smith and Max Muncy, or Teoscar Hernandez who is off to a very nice start with 17 RBIs. Hitting really hasn't been an issue for the Dodgers over the years. Their offense usually seems to get hot and they run off a very nice streak of games. It is almost always the pitching that is a concern for them. Whether it is injury, bad luck, or poor roster construction, who knows? This evening, James Paxton will take the ball for the Dodgers and he has been sharp for them in two outings. In his last game, he was able to post a quality start with six strong innings against the Twins and just two earned runs allowed. He probably could've gone deeper into the game as well as he only threw 86 pitches. The bad news is that in one game against Paxton, Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3 with a home run. Will that repeat itself? Hard to say definitively, but he is someone to be concerned about. 

I think this game will probably see more runs scored than a pitchers duel. I know Paxton is pitching well, but he was able to start the season against the White Sox and the Twins. Not exactly scary offenses there. Darvish has had the comfort of pitching in his home stadium for three of the four starts he has made. I am expecting both clubs to give up some runs here and we will go over the posted total. 

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