Padres believe all their close wins have helped prepare them for 1st matchups with Dodgers this year

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The San Diego Padres are about to face the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time since their memorable NL Division Series matchup.

They believe all the close games they've played lately prepared them for this test.

San Diego's last seven games have been decided by a total of eight runs, a stretch that continued Sunday when Manny Machado's seventh-inning homer gave the Padres a 1-0 win and series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

"We know who we're going to run up against, and we definitely got ready for it this week," Machado said.

This run of close games actually started earlier than that. Thirteen of San Diego's last 14 games featured a margin of no more than two runs, and the Padres have gone 9-5 during that stretch.

"These are kind of the games we've been playing the last 2½ weeks here now," infielder Jake Cronenworth said. "They're just kind of become the norm for us. I think (if) you can win these one-run games and win them late - good pitching, good defense and timely hitting - that's kind of the recipe for success."

Now they finally get to measure themselves against the Dodgers in seven of their next 10 games.

The Padres and Dodgers begin a three-game series Monday at San Diego before meeting again in Los Angeles for a four-game set starting June 16. The Padres are a game behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings after both teams won Sunday.

"It's crazy that we haven't faced them," reliever Jason Adam said.. "I'm excited for the series. I'd take this team over any team in baseball, top to bottom. I'd go to battle with them against anybody, so I'm excited for the series. Yeah, that's our focus. We took care of business here. Now, fly home and take care of business there."

How unusual is it for these NL West foes to wait this long before facing off? Aside from the pandemic-delayed season of 2020, the last time the Dodgers and Padres didn't meet until this late in a season was 2000.

"I used to think about the schedule and look at it and then think, 'Wow, that's odd,' " manager Mike Shildt said. "And then I started taking a holistic picture of the schedule. The schedule's got to be a nightmare to put together. There's just going to be quirks in it."

This has become one of baseball's top rivalries, thanks in part to their recent postseason showdowns.

San Diego defeated the top-seeded Dodgers 3-1 in the 2022 NL Division Series before losing 4-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship Series. Last year, the Padres had the Dodgers on the brink of elimination before falling 3-2 in the NL Division Series.

The Padres led that series 2-1 and had a chance to close it out at home, but they fell 8-0 as eight Dodgers pitchers combined on a shutout. The Dodgers then returned home to win 2-0 in Game 5 as Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Yu Darvish.

Darvish hasn't pitched for San Diego yet this season as the 38-year-old right-hander recovers from inflammation in his throwing elbow, but the Padres still have an outstanding pitching staff. San Diego has allowed a total of 15 runs over its last seven games and has three shutouts in that span. Sunday marked the Padres' MLB-leading 12th shutout of the season.

The Padres have needed that stellar pitching because their lineup has struggled at times. Machado has gone 12 of 31 this month and has three homers in his last four games, but two-time All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting .185 since the start of May.

That combination of impressive pitching and inconsistent hitting is producing plenty of close games, and the Padres are winning most of them. They're hoping that provides a long-term payoff.

"I think it's not only a help for (preparing for) the Dodgers," Adam said. "It's a help for all the future. It's a help for the playoffs. Very rarely are you blowing out a team in the playoffs. Of course, we love blowouts when they happen, and we love winning by 20, but the reality is there's a lot of important games played that are really close. A team that can battle together and win those games is special. That's what we have here."

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB