Well, sports enthusiasts, when looking at the NLDS game 1 matchup between the Padres and the Dodgers, the analysis scrolls out like a beach towel in San Diego. Starting off, both teams are sending pitchers to the mound with postseason stats as barren as a desert; really makes you question if it's their first time playing catch. On the mound for the Padres, we have Dylan Cease, a man who last season could strike out a batter faster than you can say "fish taco", but if his ERA were a Letterman joke, it wouldn’t get a laugh. Then for the Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is up but with no prior postseason performances, he’s as much of a mystery as why I keep finding sand in my socks.
Hopping into the wayback machine, our most recent memories of these two locking horns are mixed, like a half-and-half iced tea and lemonade. In the last five meetings, the Dodgers took home the W thrice while the Padres twice. But if we're talking momentum, the Dodgers are coming off a hot streak against the Rockies while the Padres had a seesaw battle against the Braves and the Diamondbacks.
Now, no Nat King Cole, but we’re unforgettable the fact that the clash is taking place at Dodger Stadium, a place that slightly favors batters like a biased little league umpire. But, honestly, with the shape these two pitchers are in, we could be playing in a park and still see some runs.
If we stitch all of this together, it feels like the Dodgers are in the dri...no, I mean, driver's seat. Considering their recent form, home-field advantage and with the odds partially in their favor, it would seem there's a slight tilt in La La Land’s favor. Alright, time to stick my neck out, folks.
Albert’s Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers by 2