LOS ANGELES -- The National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers open a three-game series Friday against the visiting San Diego Padres as they attempt to keep the San Francisco Giants at bay heading into the stretch run.
The Dodgers (74-59) hold a two-game lead over the Giants (72-60), who dropped a 5-4 decision to the Chicago Cubs to open a four-game set on Thursday. The Dodgers, who begin a six-game homestand, were off Thursday.
Despite numerous injuries, Los Angeles has ridden its core of young players to remain in first place.
Shortstop Corey Seager (.315, 23 home runs and 62 RBIs), who is the likely leader for NL Rookie of the Year honors, has been one of the club's top performers. However, rookie outfielder Andrew Toles shined Wednesday, drilling a go-ahead grand slam in a 10-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies and preventing Los Angeles from being on the wrong end of a three-game sweep.
Rookie Julio Urias (5-2, 3.71 ERA) will vie for his fifth straight decision as he faces the Padres for the first time in the series opener. The 20-year-old Urias has been solid since the All-Star break, posting a 4-0 mark with a 2.03 ERA in his last six games (four starts).
"I think the thing that's stood out to me the most with Julio has been his composure," said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers president of baseball operations. "We saw it early on. It's one of those things we thought we knew coming into the year but you don't really know it until someone competes at the major-league level and goes through the inevitable ups and downs.
"Just watching how he processed some of his hardships early on and the aptitude that he showed in his side work with (pitching coach Rick Honeycutt) and taking it into the game and watching how he competes inning to inning and start to start has been something."
In his last start in a win over the Cubs on Saturday, Urias allowed a run on six hits and tied a season-high with eight punch-outs in six innings.
Clayton Richard (1-3, 3.51 ERA) will oppose Urias in a matchup of southpaws. Richard, who the Padres re-signed after being released by the Cubs in August, is 1-2 with a 1.40 ERA in three starts (five games) with San Diego.
Richard worked seven scoreless innings and scattered eight hits against Miami last Saturday. One of his losses though occurred in relief for the Cubs against the Dodgers on May 31 when he surrendered two runs on three hits and failed to retire a batter.
Richard has a 6-4 record with a 3.84 ERA in 18 career games (16 starts) for San Diego against Los Angeles.
The Padres (55-78), who reside in last in the West, were handed a three-game sweep Thursday by the Atlanta Braves. A strong September would help soothe another painful campaign, manager Andy Green said.
"I want to see guys finish strong," Green told MLB.com. "I want to see us get better at the fine details of the game, execute things that we know we can do well."
