The San Diego Padres are rolling with Mike Clevinger for their Game 1 NLDS affair against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, per Dennis Lin. Sean Manaea was also in consideration to start, but manager Bob Melvin decided to start Clevinger to open the series.

Mike Clevinger finished the 2022 regular season with a 4.33 ERA. However, that number is a bit deceiving. Clevinger owned an ERA in the 3's for the majority of the year until the Padres' stretch run, where 4 errant outings raised his ERA. 2 of those starts came against the Dodgers, as Clevinger allowed 9 earned runs in just 8.1 innings pitched against LA in back-to-back outings.

Mike Clevinger ultimately allowed at least 4 or more earned runs in each of his 3 total starts against the Dodgers in 2022.

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Nevertheless, Bob Melvin and the Padres believe he can give the team a chance to win in Game 1 of the NLDS. But there is no question that Clevinger will have an extremely short leash. Melvin will likely turn to the bullpen the moment things start going south for Mike Clevinger.

San Diego upset the odds against the Mets in New York in the NL Wild Card Series. But taking down the 111-win Dodgers will be an ever more difficult challenge. The Padres as a team consistently struggled against LA during the regular season.

Mike Clevinger can provide the Padres with a major boost if he can overcome his Dodgers woes and stun LA. He was able to close out the regular season with a strong outing against the Chicago White Sox. In that start, Clevinger worked 6 innings of 1-run ball to lead San Diego to a win. The Padres are banking on him carrying that momentum into Game 1.