Dodgers' Hill takes on Padres auditioning for postseason spot

Rich Hill will be auditioning Tuesday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park.

The 39-year-old left-hander will start for the first time since Sept. 12 in a bid to make the Dodgers' post-season roster. The left knee that forced him to miss the start of the season is again troubling Hill, although he looked sharp in a simulated game while wearing a brace.

This will be the second time this season that Hill has launched a return at Petco Park. He made his 2019 debut against the Padres on May 4, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in four innings.

"Rich will throw innings in San Diego and we'll go from there," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who plans to send Hill out again Sunday for four innings against the Giants in the regular season finale before deciding if the veteran will be on the post-season roster.

Hill (4-1, 2.68 ERA in 11 starts), who also missed time this season with a forearm strain, has a 6-4 career record against the Padres with a 3.12 ERA, a 1.038 WHIP and a .202 opponents' batting average in 12 starts. He has a 1-2 record with a 1.250 WHIP in four career starts at Petco Park.

Hill we be opposed by Padres right-hander Ronald Bolanos (0-1, 5.79 ERA).

The Dodgers will be facing Bolanos for the first time. The 6-foot-2, 23-year-old Cuban was a member of the Padres' heralded 2016 international signing class. Ranked the Padres' No. 15 prospect, Tuesday night will be Bolanos' fourth Major League appearance and third starts since being promoted to the Major Leagues on Sept. 3. In his debut at Arizona, Bolanos allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings.

In eight innings since, Bolanos has given up seven runs on eight hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. Three of the hits were home runs, accounting for five of the runs.

The Dodgers have a 10-6 edge on the Padres thus far this season, including a 4-2 record at Petco Park. The Dodgers are 5-2 against the Padres since the All-Star break after the Padres finished the first half by winning the last three games at Dodger Stadium in a four-game series.

On paper, it appears that the National League's Southern California rivals have little to play for starting Tuesday as the Padres host the Dodgers for the final three games of the season at Petco Park.

In fact, both teams have much to play for.

The Dodgers have 100 wins. Atlanta has 96. The Dodgers need at least one more win -- and possibly two or three if the Braves finish strong -- to clinch the best record in the National League and home-field advantage going into post-season play.

"We're not done," said Roberts. "Every win counts. We have a lot to do."

The Padres want to show what they can do for interim manager Rod Barajas, who is 1-1 since taking over when Andy Green was fired Saturday just eight games shy of finishing his fourth season.

"It was great," Barajas said late Sunday afternoon after Seth Mejias-Brean's two-run walk-off homer in the 10th gave the Padres a 6-4 win over Arizona and presented Barajas -- who had managed Triple-A El Paso to three straight division titles and one Pacific Coast League championship in three seasons prior to joining the Padres as bench coach this season.

"It's only for these last eight games, but it means something," Barajas said. "I'm going to enjoy this opportunity. I'm going to try to take advantage of it."

The Padres celebrated Barajas' first win in the clubhouse Sunday, which ended a 1-8 run that saw the Padres score only seven runs over the last six games while batting .146 as a team.

--Field Level Media