Reasons to believe in the Padres after game 1

The San Diego Padres lost 5-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers after game 1 of the NLDS, but they gave fans plenty of reasons to think this series is far from over.

The San Diego Padres trail the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 heading into tonight’s game 2 NLDS matchup. That would normally feel deflating, but there’s plenty of reasons to feel encouraged about the Padres’ chances of winning this series after last night. Let’s go through some of them…

1 vs. 4

We probably should’ve viewed game 1 as a schedule loss.

The Dodgers had plenty of time to rest, coming off a first-round bye, and were throwing their #1 starting pitcher. By comparison, the Padres left it all on the field against the Mets and then spent all night drinking before flying cross-country. Their starting pitcher was their #4 guy, who has been struggling as of late.

If someone asks you what happened to the Padres last night, that’s all it is. They were at a severe disadvantage when you add those things together.

The good news is that the Padres actually did okay against Julio Urías, scoring 3 runs in 5 innings before the Dodgers starter was pulled. The bad news is that Mike Clevinger did not turn back into 2018 Mike Clevinger, he gave up 5 runs in just 2.2 innings.

But, the silver lining is that the Padres will (sort of) have the pitching matchup advantage the next few games. Tonight, San Diego’s #1 (Yu Darvish) will face Los Angeles’ #2 (Clayton Kershaw), and that pattern will continue until a possible game 5.