Series Preview: Dodgers Take on Padres in Mexico

Major League Baseball is going international again this weekend as the Dodgers and Padres head south of the border. The two teams will face of in Monterrey Mexico for a three-game series. It’s all part of the MLB’s plan to expand the game across the world, after previously playing in Australia and Tokyo over the past ten years.

The Dodgers were one of the lucky teams who got to travel to Australia to start off the year in 2014. They faced off against the Diamondbacks for two games at the Sydney Polo Grounds. The Dodgers took both games of the series.

Hi, Mexico! ??

— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) May 4, 2018

Luckily, the Dodgers will face off against the Padres in this series. Not that any major league team is worth looking over, but the Dodgers did manage to put up 30 runs against San Diego’s 10. Not too shabby for a team that has struggled all year.

Weekend Probables

Walker Buehler is set to take on Joey Lucchesi in game one of what should be a lively series. It will be a battle of the young guns, as Buehler and Luccchesi are 24 and 25 respectively. Buehler has started two games and given up just two runs while striking out eleven. Lucchesi has started six games and done very well for the Padres this year. He has tossed a combined 32.1 innings and given up ten runs for a 2.78 earned run average. It’s sure to be  one heck of a game for the young studs.

Kenta Maeda gets the start in game two, and will face off against Bryan Mitchell. Mitchell has gotten off to a rough start, while Maeda has been a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers rotation. He has started six games and allowed just eleven runs.

Rich Hill and Eric Lauer will go Sunday to wrap up the international series. Hill will be making just his third start after getting a finger infection. Eric Lauer will make just the third start of his career against the long-time veteran. Lauer has allowed nine runs in just eight innings of work.

Analysis

This series should be a good one, both for the Dodgers and for the sport in general. It’s exciting to see the game expand into other countries, and not just in North America and Canada.