The two teams have played each other twice this year, with both series coming<\/a> at Petco Park. Now the location shifts to Dodger Stadium, with the Padres looking to chip away at LA’s division lead.<\/p>\n Ahead of the crucial series, slugger Gavin Sheets sent his teammates a message to turn up the intensity.<\/p>\n \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have to say it, but we need to turn the intensity up for this next series,\u201d Sheets said.<\/a> \u201cObviously, we get off to slow starts, and the game starts to snowball a little bit. But we\u2019ve got to keep that under control and as a defense not let that unravel and not let it affect the way we play. I think, unfortunately, it did the opposite.<\/p>\n “We need to get back on track against the Dodgers and right this road trip.\u201d <\/p>\n Sheets understands the importance of this series with the Dodgers leading the National League West by 12 games. The Padres need to chip into that lead before things get out of hand.<\/p>\n San Diego is looking to compete for a postseason spot, and while there is still a lot of season left to go, the recent performances have been troubling. The Padres are already one of the worst hitting teams in baseball, and the starting pitching has now started to unravel<\/a>. <\/p>\n Right-hander Michael King holds the lowest ERA among the starters, with his number sitting at 3.55 for the season. San Diego entered the year with real questions around the starting group, and those fears have started to materialize as of late.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYeah, they gotta pitch better, and they gotta throw strikes,\u201d\u00a0manager Craig Stammen said of the starters recently. \u201cThat\u2019s number one is you make the other team put the ball in play and play the percentages. That\u2019s number one. Number two is we just got to get a little bit better overall being able to manage getting through the game.” <\/p>\n The Padres have been without multiple starting pitchers such as Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Lucas Giolito, Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez and Matt Waldron due to injury. This has left the starting rotation very thin, leading to the issues on the mound.<\/p>\n Going up against the tough Dodgers offense will be a challenge for the Padres, but it’s one that this franchise has faced over the years. San Diego has been one of the few teams in baseball to match up well against Los Angeles in recent years, and they’ll need to prove it again this weekend to kickstart their season.<\/p>\n Sign up for our free newsletter<\/a> and follow us on Facebook<\/a> and X\/Twitter<\/a> for the latest news<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on Google