Dodgers host Padres in decisive regular-season finale at Dodger Stadium

The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Thursday in what was the Dodgers' final home game before the playoffs. First pitch was set for 7:10 p.m. local time, closing out a three-game series between the division rivals.

Series context

The series stood tied 1-1 heading into Thursday. On Tuesday the Dodgers blanked the Padres 7-0, but San Diego responded Wednesday with a 5-1 win that snapped the Dodgers' 11-game home winning streak. Manny Machado hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs overall in that game, while Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed four runs (two earned) over six innings in the loss. Yamamoto closed his regular season with a 2.53 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 185 innings. Teoscar Hernández went 3-for-4 for the Dodgers, raising his season average to .270, and Andy Pages also recorded three hits in his second game back from the injured list. Shohei Ohtani returned Wednesday after 15 days on the injured list, and according to Yahoo Sports, he was slotted into the leadoff spot for Thursday's game.

What was at stake

Entering Thursday, the Padres held the fourth seed in the National League playoff picture, one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs — a win over the Dodgers would have let San Diego officially clinch a postseason berth. The Dodgers, meanwhile, were one win away from locking up the No. 2 seed, though their own playoff spot was effectively secure regardless of the outcome. Per True Blue LA, the Dodgers still trailed the Milwaukee Brewers by two games for the top overall seed but led the Atlanta Braves by four games for a first-round bye, needing just one more win (a 'magic number' of one) to clinch that bye.

Pitching matchup

The start went to Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers and Nick Pivetta for the Padres — both pitchers coming off injury-hit seasons that combined for fewer than 20 starts between them. Sources noted Glasnow had been fully built back up for some time, while Pivetta had yet to reach 80 pitches in any of his three starts since returning, still working his way toward a full workload.