One of the best rivalries in sports resumes on Friday night as the San Diego Padres host the Los Angeles Dodgers in a key National League West series.  The Padres and Dodgers are separated by just a few games in the standings so this is a critical series.  New Dodger pickup David Wells gets the start against his old team in the opener.  Wells is 6-8 and has a 5.46 ERA for the season.  The Padres may go with Wilfredo Ledezma who is 3-3 and has an ERA of 5.68 this season. It is also possible the Padres will go with a bullpen by committee approach in this game.
SBG Global reports that early betting has the public taking the favored Padres at home.

David Wells pitched well in his Dodger debut going five innings and getting the win against the Mets.  On the other side of the field, if Ledezma does not go it is possible the Padres will start Justin Hampson who has been a starter in the Minor Leagues.  If the Padres call up a pitcher it might be Jack Cassel, who made his Major League debut earlier this month in Cincinnati.

Here were the betting statistics heading into Thursday night’s action. The Dodgers are 4-0 in their last 4 games on Grass. The Dodgers are 11-4 in their last 15 road games vs. a left-handed starter. The Dodgers are 18-7 in their last 25 Friday games. The Dodgers are 3-8 in their last 11 vs. the National League West. The Dodgers are 7-19 in their last 26 games as a road underdog. The Dodgers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in San Diego.