Padres pregame: Wandy Peralta serving as an opener to start Dodgers series

by Jeff Sanders

LOS ANGELES — The Padres will allow baseball’s best bullpen to stretch its legs to start their three-game stay at Dodger Stadium.

With Michael King landing on the injured list with left knee inflammation a day ahead of his scheduled start, the Padres will ask left-hander Wandy Peralta to start Friday’s 7:10 p.m. start on Padres.TV.

The Padres’ 2.97 ERA is the lowest in the majors and 31 points better than the next-best team (Giants). The Dodgers, in contrast, rank 21st in the majors with a 4.22 bullpen ERA and 20th with a 3.89 ERA since the trade deadline.

The Padres have a 2.94 ERA since the deadline, seventh lowest in the majors.

This will be the second time the Padres have used an opener this season as right-hander David Morgan opened against the Rangers on July 6 to allow left-hander Kyle Hart take the bulk relief work.

Starting a left-hander is about getting off to a good start against the dangerous lefties in the Dodgers lineup, beginning with Shohei Ohtani.

Peralta has a 3.13 ERA in 54⅔ innings this season, has allowed two earned runs over his last 15 appearances (1.26 ERA) and has actually been tougher on righties (.606 OPS) than he has on lefties (.717 OPS) this season.

Peralta has allowed three runs — two earned — in 3 ⅓ innings in four appearances against the Dodgers this season.

Right-hander Randy Vásquez (3-5, 3.93 ERA) appears to be the bulk option on Friday. He replaced King on the active roster and is on four days’ rest after allowing five runs in three innings on Sunday in his lone start for Triple-A El Paso.

Vásquez has a 3.72 ERA in two career starts against the Dodgers, both this season. He allowed one run in 4⅔ innings on June 11 at Petco Park and three runs in five innings on June 17 at Dodger Stadium.

Here is how Vásquez has fared against current Dodgers:

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 3.14 ERA) will start Game 1 for the Dodgers.

The 37-year-old veteran is striking out just 5.8 batters per nine innings, the lowest of his career if the season ended today. Kershaw has averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings throughout his career. Kershaw has allowed one earned run over his last 12 innings. He is 23-11 with a 2.19 ERA in 47 starts against the Padres, but he has allowed seven earned runs over two starts (8⅓ IP) over the last two years, both losses.

Here is how Kershaw has fared against current Padres: