Padres vs. Dodgers Odds & Prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the National League West each of the last four seasons, but each foray into the postseason has ended in bitter disappointment. The Dodgers begin yet another push toward their first World Series appearance since winning it all in 1988 on Monday as they open a four-game set against the visiting San Diego Padres, who are coming off their worst season in nearly 10 years.

Los Angeles won the West by four games over San Francisco and powered past Washington in the NL Division Series before bowing out to the eventual world champion Chicago Cubs in the Championship Series. Outside of trading for second baseman Logan Forsythe, the Dodgers kept most of their supporting cast intact and are hoping to stay healthier in 2017 after setting a major-league record last year by placing 28 players on the disabled list. The Padres went an NL-worst 68-94 – their worst finish since posting 63 victories in 2008 – and their prospects for improving on that mark appear dim, as they begin another rebuilding project centered around 2016 All-Star Wil Myers. San Diego will try to avoid a repeat of last year’s dubious start as it became the first team in major-league history to be shut out in its first three games last season when it was outscored 25-0 by the Dodgers.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Jhoulys Chacin (2016: 6-8, 4.81 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (2016: 12-4, 1.69)

Chacin, who signed a one-year deal with San Diego in December, will draw his second career Opening Day assignment and first since 2013 with Colorado. The 29-year-old Venezuelan, who made 34 combined appearances (22 starts) with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Angels in 2016, allowed a total of two runs in his last five turns last season – going 3-0 with a 0.61 ERA over that span. Chacin gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings of a no-decision versus the Dodgers last year and is 9-7 with a 3.61 ERA in 20 career appearances (19 starts) against them.

Kershaw gets the nod to make his seventh consecutive Opening Day start – tying Don Drysdale and Don Sutton for the club record – as he is coming off a dominant spring (2.63 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 24 innings). The six-time All-Star was limited to 21 outings last season, yet still finished 14th in the NL with 172 strikeouts while setting career-best marks in ERA and WHIP (0.72). Kershaw won both of his turns versus the Padres in 2016, yielding only four hits and a walk over 16 scoreless frames to improve to 14-6 with a 2.05 ERA in 29 career starts against San Diego.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers C Yasmani Grandal, SS Corey Seager, 3B Justin Turner and OF Joc Pederson became the fourth quartet in team history to each hit at least 25 homers in a season last year.

2. Myers batted .203 with no home runs in 79 at-bats versus Los Angeles in 2016 but was one of only three major leaguers (Mookie Betts, Mike Trout) to record at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases.

3. This campaign will mark the first since 1950 in which announcer Vin Scully, who retired at the end of the 2016 regular season, will not serve as the Dodgers’ regular play-by-play announcer.