Los Angeles @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2019 ) LA Dodgers 6, San Diego 4

The Los Angeles Dodgers still have a shot at the best record in baseball as they enter the final week of the regular season and don’t show any signs of slowing down. The Dodgers will try to get started on another series win when they visit the San Diego Padres for the opener of a three-game set on Tuesday.

Los Angeles, which enters the week 4 1/2 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the National League and homefield advantage in the NL playoffs, is trying to track down the American League’s Houston Astros and New York Yankees while setting up the roster for the postseason, though the order of the pitching rotation doesn’t seem to matter much to the club. "If you look at our three guys (Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Hyun-Jin Ryu), they’re very interchangeable," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters. "We can still pivot as far as aligning them. I don’t think we can make a bad decision." The Padres won’t be going to the postseason and are entering an uncertain future after the firing of manager Andy Green over the weekend but come in with some momentum after a walk-off blast from rookie Seth Mejias-Brean on Sunday gave interim manager Rod Barajas his first win. Los Angeles will add to their surplus of starting pitching with the return of left-hander Rich Hill on Tuesday while San Diego sends rookie righty Ronald Bolanos to the mound.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, SportsNet Los Angeles, FS San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Rich Hill (4-1, 2.68 ERA) vs. Padres RH Ronald Bolanos (0-1, 5.79)

Hill is making his second start since June and is hoping to make it more than an inning after recording one out against Baltimore on Sept. 12 and leaving due to a knee sprain. Hill, who spent 12 weeks on the injured list with a flexor tendon strain in his elbow before starting against the Orioles, is trying to prove he can be a part of the Los Angeles' staff in October. The 39-year-old last started at San Diego on May 4 and was reached for three runs and seven hits in four innings without factoring in the decision.

Bolanos is looking for his first major league win and is making his fourth appearance - third start - since his debut earlier this month. The 23-year-old Cuba native last worked on Sept. 16, when he came out of the bullpen against Milwaukee and allowed two runs and three hits while striking out a pair in three innings. Bolanos is seeing Los Angeles for the first time and has surrendered three home runs and seven walks in 14 total innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers 1B Max Muncy (quad) missed the last two games but is expected back on Tuesday.

2. Mejias-Brean homered in two of the last three games for San Diego.

3. Los Angeles SS Corey Seager is 12-for-24 with eight RBIs over his last six games.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 9, Padres 3