Roki Sasaki (3-4, 4.76 ERA) draws the start for Los Angeles in Friday's series opener, going up against Walker Buehler (4-3, 3.96 ERA) in what shapes up as a genuine pitching duel. Buehler spent years as one of the most important starters in Dodgers history before leaving for Boston and then San Diego — and his first showdown against his old club figures to carry some extra edge. First pitch is 6:45 PM PT at Petco Park.
The Dodgers swept the Twins heading into this series, with Ohtani delivering 6 strong innings and Mookie Betts hitting his 300th career home run in Wednesday's finale. That's the good news. The bad: Will Smith (neck, 10-day IL) is not making this road trip at all. Kyle Tucker is dealing with back spasms that kept him out Wednesday, with the team set to re-evaluate before tonight's first pitch. Add Teoscar Hernandez (hamstring) and Enrique Hernandez (oblique) to the list of missing pieces. The Dodgers have carried a 4.80 team ERA in a recent stretch without their starting catcher — a number that matters when you're heading to one of the harder ballparks to score in.
Buehler has been the best pitcher in the Padres' rotation this month, and it's not close. He posted a 1.71 ERA across 4 June starts with 22 strikeouts in 21 innings, keeping his walks near zero and getting ahead of hitters consistently enough that manager Craig Stammen has been running out of superlatives. His last outing — 5.1 innings, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts against Texas — was exactly the kind of efficient, pressure-free start you want heading into a division series. Buehler faced the Dodgers while pitching for Boston last year and gave up 3 runs in under 5 innings. That result doesn't fit the pitcher he's been since arriving in San Diego, and he'll want to flip the script in front of his home crowd.
- Day-To-DayKyle Tucker RF — Tucker (back) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
- Day-To-DayChris Campos SP
- 10-Day-ILTeoscar Hernandez LF — Hernandez (hamstring) is expected to report to Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin a rehab assignment this week in hopes of coming off the injured list for the Doders' series opener against the Athletics on June 29, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILWill Smith C — Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Smith (neck) won't travel with the Dodgers for their upcoming road trip, which begins Monday and runs through July 1, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILEnrique Hernandez 1B — Hernandez (oblique) has started some baseball activities but remains in the early stages of his rehab, per MLB.com.
- 15-Day-ILBlake Treinen RP — The Dodgers placed Treinen on the 15-day injured list Saturday with right elbow inflammation.
- 60-Day-ILLandon Knack SP — Knack (chest) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, yielding two runs on five hits and one walk over 1.1 innings.
- 60-Day-ILBlake Snell SP — Snell (elbow) will throw a 15-pitch bullpen session Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
- 7-Day ILJake Cronenworth 2B — Cronenworth (concussion), who was expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A El Paso, did not get cleared in time to play, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
- 10-Day-ILLuis Campusano C — Campusano (toe) continues to rehab in Arizona but hasn't yet been scheduled for a minor-league rehab assignment, per MLB.com.
- 15-Day-ILLucas Giolito SP — Giolito was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Monday, with right elbow inflammation.
- 15-Day-ILGerman Marquez SP — Marquez (forearm) struck out three and allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks across five innings in a rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A El Paso.
- 15-Day-ILMatt Waldron SP — Waldron (forearm) made his first rehab appearance with Triple-A El Paso on Sunday, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings.
- 15-Day-ILJeremiah Estrada RP — Estrada (2-2) picked up the loss after giving up the eventual game-winning run in a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILNick Pivetta SP — Pivetta (forearm) progressed to throwing from 90 feet with some intensity June 10, per MLB.com.
- 60-Day-ILJoe Musgrove SP — Musgrove (elbow) started playing catch in late May, per MLB.com.
Sasaki's 2026 has been a mixed bag. He showed real promise in a 6-start stretch where he was holding hitters to a sub-3 ERA, but his last outing against Baltimore went 5 clean innings followed by a 3-run 6th — Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back home runs to erase the lead and leave Sasaki with a no-decision. The stuff is real; the command late in starts is still a question mark. He'll face a Padres lineup that just swept the Braves and has won 4 straight, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado anchoring a lineup that is not going to give him a free pass. The Padres' own rotation has been decimated by injuries — Darvish, Musgrove, Pivetta, and Giolito are all unavailable — which makes tonight's Buehler start even more important for San Diego to take care of business in the opener.