SAN DIEGO _ The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres Thursday with a clean, brisk 1-0 victory while getting a few encouraging individual performances a week before the start of the postseason.
Max Muncy, playing with a fractured right wrist less than a week removed from a quad injury, produced the only run with a two-out RBI single off left-hander Joey Lucchesi in the sixth inning. Catcher Will Smith, mired in a month-long slump, produced two hits after totaling two hits in his previous eight games. Rookie pitcher Dustin May, pitching on back-to-back days for the first time, overwhelmed the Padres (70-89) with another dominant inning.
Most importantly, Clayton Kershaw was sharp in his final regular season start. The left-hander limited a feeble Padres lineup to two hits and a walk while striking out seven over six scoreless innings. He threw 90 pitches His next appearance will be in the National League Division Series on at least six days' rest.
But the Dodgers (103-56) did not leave Petco Park for good in 2019 without more concerns surfacing so close to the playoffs. The first developed when Corey Seager departed Wednesday's game with left hamstring soreness. It's the same hamstring Seager strained in June and led to a month on the the injured list. Seager didn't play Thursday, but manager Dave Roberts insisted the shortstop will be in the lineup Friday against the San Francisco Giants.
On Thursday, Roberts revealed Justin Turner wasn't in the lineup for the second game in a row because his "back tightened up" during early batting practice Wednesday. Roberts said he wasn't sure if Turner will play Friday.
"Basically just want to make sure that he's fine," Roberts said. "Something that kind of came out of nowhere. And we're managing it."
Turner's back issue arrived after he missed nearly two weeks this month with a sprained ankle. The third baseman, a crucial component to the Dodgers' offense, has compiled 11 plate appearances since Sept. 7.
"Not ideal, but in talking with Justin and the training staff, it's something that shouldn't be of concern," Roberts said. "I still think he's swinging the bat well. Got him in some games to reset. So I think the at-bats, I think that he'll be fine once we get him back in there to get him ready for the postseason. Number one, we just want to make sure that the back is in good health."
Without Turner for most of the month, the Dodgers clinched home-field advantage in the National League and remain in the hunt for home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
With their win Thursday, the Dodgers moved a game ahead of the New York Yankees and 1 { games behind the Houston Astros, who play later Thursday. The Yankees and Astros would both hold the tiebreakers. The Yankees would claim it with their head-to-head record _ they took two of three games from the Dodgers last month _ while the Astros would own it based on their better division record.
For that to matter, the Dodgers will need to advance to the World Series for the third consecutive year. Having Seager and Turner not just available, but as close to 100% as possible, would make the path far easier.
"If the playoffs were to start today, those guys would all be in there," Roberts said. "So I think it's something that we're being prudent and making sure that these guys are 100% ready, physically, when the playoffs start."
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