First pitch: Thursday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: San Diego +120, Los Angeles -130, Total: 7.0

The Dodgers will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss when they host the Padres on Thursday.

San Diego has been playing some solid baseball recently, winning four of its past six games. The team has surprisingly been excellent offensively, averaging 6.3 runs per game in that span. The Padres were a miserable hitting team earlier in the year, so it’s a good sign that they are starting to put up runs. The Dodgers, meanwhile, had won five straight games before dropping the final two games of their series against the Orioles. They were not good enough offensively in those defeats, scoring just five runs in the two contests. This game will feature a nice pitching matchup, as LHP Drew Pomeranz (7-7, 2.65 ERA, 109 K) will be on the mound for the Padres and LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K) will be making his season debut for the Dodgers. Ryu had an injured shoulder earlier in the year and likely won’t work too far into this game, but it’s big that he is back and joining Los Angeles’ rotation. One thing favoring the Padres in this game is the fact that they have played well in night games this season, going 31-27 against the money line on the year. They are, however, a miserable 5-19 against the money line off an upset win over a division rival as an underdog over the past two seasons.

Drew Pomeranz has been a bright spot for the Padres all season and is coming off of two impressive starts for his team. Pomeranz has allowed just one earned run in his past 14.0 innings of work, striking out 13 batters and walking just one. He has been spot on with his control and that is big for him. He cant afford to give the Dodgers anything easy in this one, so he’ll need to avoid walks once again on Thursday. Fortunately for him, he shut down this Dodgers team in his last meeting with the club. That was on May 1 and Pomeranz threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five batters and walking just one. San Diego would certainly sign up for another outing like that on Thursday. Offensively, the guys to look out for in this one are 1B Wil Myers (.295, 19 HR, 59 RBI) and OF Melvin Upton Jr. (.261, 13 HR, 40 RBI). Myers is the best hitter San Diego has and he is on an absolute tear coming into this one. In the two games coming into this series, Myers was 7-for-10 with a double, a triple and two RBI. The team will need him to come through in this one as well. Upton Jr., meanwhile, is a guy with some serious pop in his bat. He has four homers over the past 10 games and the Padres can use something out of him offensively in this one.

The Dodgers have been waiting on Hyun-Jin Ryu all season and will finally get him back on Thursday. While it’s not fair to expect him to shut down an opponent in his first start back from a shoulder injury, Ryu has been dominant against the Padres over the years. Over the past three seasons, Ryu is 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA in five starts against San Diego. He did not allow a homer in any of those games and he’ll just be looking to earn something close to a quality start in this one. It’d be big if he can avoid walks, as he walked just five batters in those five starts against the Padres. As for this Dodgers lineup, it’s impossible not to mention SS Corey Seager (.303, 17 HR, 41 RBI). The rookie is on a 19-game hitting streak for Los Angeles and has been a major part of the team’s success all season. The Dodgers will be hoping he can get on base a few times in this one. They’ll also be hoping that 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.284, 6 HR, 42 RBI) and C Yasmani Grandal (.183, 9 HR, 31 RBI) can drive in some runs in this one. The two of them are a combined 6-for-18 with a homer and seven RBI against Pomeranz in their careers, so it’s big that they channel some of that success on Thursday.