MLB Playoff Bracket 2024: Padres vs. Dodgers NLDS Odds, Preview

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers will square off for the second time in the last three postseasons in the NLDS.

San Diego swept Atlanta in the wild-card round to set up the matchup of National League West titans.

Los Angeles earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NL, but it also has five days off between the end of the regular season and Saturday’s Game 1.

The extended rest did not do the Dodgers well in the NLDS last season, but they have the potential to reverse course in 2024 with Shohei Ohtani leading the team.

Games 1 and 2 will take place on Saturday and Sunday at Dodger Stadium, and if the postseason clash is anything like the regular-season battles between the rivals, we are in for a fantastic series.

To Win Series

Los Angeles Dodgers (-140; bet $140 to win $100)

San Diego (+120; bet $100 to win $120)

The Padres know exactly what the momentum gained from the wild-card round can do for a team in the postseason.

San Diego benefited from that during the 2022 postseason, when it beat the Dodgers in the NLDS and then lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS.

In fact, the Padres helped start a stark trend in the current playoff era that began in 2022. No top three seed has advanced to the NLCS in the last two years.

The Padres have comparable talent to the Dodgers and Phillies this season and they have one of the best postseason hitters in Fernando Tatis Jr. leading their lineup.

Tatis, who homered in Game 1 against Atlanta, owns a 1.300 OPS and .393 batting average in postseason action.

The combination of Luis Arraez’s ability to get on base and Tatis’ power could shift the momentum of any game right at the start.

San Diego can make a case it has a better pitching setup for the NLDS as well with Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Michael King lined up to start the first three games. Joe Musgrove’s status might be in doubt because he left Wednesday’s win over Atlanta with right elbow tightness.

The back end of the Padres bullpen is also strong with Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez leading the charge.

San Diego will make the NLDS a five-game battle, and if the wild-card trend holds, it could be back in the NLCS.

The Dodgers had trouble getting past their foes from the NL West in the last two years.

In 2022, the Dodgers fell short against the Padres in the NLDS. A year ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks swept LA in the NLDS.

The big difference between those three seasons is Shohei Ohtani’s presence at the top of the lineup.

Ohtani and the bats may be forced to carry the Dodgers at points of the series because of the questions surrounding the rotation after Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Dodgers hitters should be well aware of the challenge that faces them, starting with Dylan Cease in Game 1, since the Padres held the Dodgers to three total runs in their last two wins over LA in the regular season.

However, the Dodgers posted 11 runs on the Padres to finish off their September series at Dodger Stadium after they were held to two runs in the series opener.

At their best, the Dodgers can beat anyone in the league, and things could be much different with Ohtani in the lineup now, but it is worth noting they are 3-10 in their last 13 postseason games dating back to the 2022 NLCS loss to Atlanta.

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