After blowing big lead vs. Dodgers, Padres could have hands full with Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers intend to have a bonding moment wrapped up inside a baseball game when they host the San Diego Padres on Friday.

The Dodgers are set to send right-hander Shohei Ohtani to the mound, while Dalton Rushing will be his catcher.

Ohtani (8-2, 1.58 ERA) will be pitching with eight days of rest between starts, more to manage his season workload than because he had trouble getting on the same page with Rushing behind the plate June 24 at Minnesota. Ohtani and the Dodgers won 4-3 that day.

The issues in the outing became troublesome enough that Ohtani took over calling pitches at one point, with manager Dave Roberts having a heart-to-heart discussion with Rushing in the dugout between innings.

Will Smith typically catches Ohtani, but he has been on the injured list since early June with neck inflammation. Roberts will return to the Ohtani-Rushing partnership again instead of using current backup catcher Chuckie Robinson.

"I think that they will be (in sync) more than they were his last start," Roberts said Thursday. "They don't think the same, so it takes time. But again, I think Dalton understands that is what he signed up for. The job of a catcher is to be a servant to the pitcher. That's the bottom line. So it's Dalton's job to get on page with whatever pitcher. I expect that all to be resolved."

Ohtani also is expected to be in the lineup as a hitter.

In three career starts against San Diego, Ohtani is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. The win came May 20 at San Diego when he pitched five scoreless innings in a 4-0 win for Los Angeles.

He is 6-1 overall in his past eight outings.

The Padres hope to end a six-game losing streak when they send right-hander Michael King (5-7, 3.55) to the mound. King's most recent start came Sunday when he faced the Dodgers at home and gave up four runs on three hits with four walks over 4 1/3 innings. He took the loss in the 4-2 game.

In seven career appearances (five starts) against Los Angeles, King is 3-1 with a 2.94 ERA.

The Padres won the opener of a home series against the Dodgers last weekend but have now matched their longest losing streak of the season. The latest loss came after the Padres led 6-0 as the Dodgers rebounded with 12 consecutive runs in a 12-7 victory.

Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth all hit home runs in the first two innings for San Diego. Los Angeles received four hits each from Rushing and Kyle Tucker as they both tied career highs. Rushing also matched his career high with four RBIs.

The Padres' bad news did not end there. They lost catcher Freddy Fermin in the fifth inning after he was hit in the mask by a foul ball. Before the game, right-handed reliever Jason Adam (shoulder) was placed on the injured list, while right-hander German Marquez was activated.

"Felt like the safest thing was to put him on the IL, call German up," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "So hopefully Jason's injury isn't too long, and that we just give him a little breather, and then he can be back helping our bullpen again."

--Field Level Media