The Padres have effectively played shorthanded the last few days, with Ramón Laureano sliding over from left to center field and Gavin Sheets backfilling the left-field vacancy. Merrill's unavailability has coincided with shortstop Xander Bogaerts and second baseman Jake Cronenworth both missing a game apiece because of their own ills.

The Padres host the Dodgers on Friday night. Star centerfielder Jackson Merrill will once again not be in the lineup for the Padres.

San Diego Padres All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill is out of the Padres' lineup once again for the Friars' series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday. Merrill has been out of the Padres lineup since leaving the Padres game against the Dodgers last Sunday.

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are in a battle for the NL West crown. The Padres held a one-game lead on the division heading into a series agains

The Dodgers are favored (-142 on the moneyline to win) when they visit the Padres (+119). The starting pitchers are Tyler Glasnow (1-1) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Nestor Cortes (1-2) for the San Diego Padres.

Its Friday, August 22 and the Dodgers (73-55) are in San Diego to take on the Padres (72-56). Blake Snell is slated to take the mound for Los Angeles against Yu Darvish for San Diego. The Dodgers' lead in the National League West is down to a single game over the Padres entering this weekend series.