A World Series title can't be won in mid-April, but that doesn't mean a three-game set between two formidable National League rivals this weekend won't have any postseason-esque drama or intrigue.
On Friday night at Petco Park, the San Diego Padres and defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will play their first of 19 games against each other this season. And each matchup holds a considerable amount of weight, as these wins and losses could very well determine which team takes the NL West division crown come early October.
Padres radio broadcaster and former MLB player Tony Gwynn Jr. joined the Reiter Than You show on Friday to preview the upcoming series, and discuss San Diego's World Series aspirations.
"As you can imagine, there is as much excitement as I can ever remember in this city, and I've been here my entire life," Gwynn Jr. said. "And that's through a couple World Series teams, a couple playoff teams. This is, by far, the most excited, and certainly the most excited San Diego fans have ever been going into a series against the Dodgers... I think this is a good series. Both teams are a little banged up, but I don't think it'll matter."
The Dodgers, which won their first title since 1988 last season, have stormed out of the gate this April. According to ESPN Stats & Info, they're the first defending champion to start the regular season 11-2 or better through their first 13 games, and they've been winning without star slugger and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger, who's been sidelined with a calf injury.
As for the Padres (9-5), their young, superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to be activated off the injured list on Friday, having avoided surgery following a subluxation to his left shoulder last week.
According to FiveThirtyEight's annual MLB predictions and simulations, the Dodgers are currently projected to win a league-best 107 games, with a whopping 30-percent chance to become the first repeat champion since the 1999-2000 Yankees. San Diego is also a betting favorite -- they're projected to finish 94-68 overall -- but their road to the NL pennant will go through Los Angeles, and the Dodgers have won eight consecutive division titles.
"I think the [Padres'] starting rotation, in particular, has to keep pace with what the Dodgers' rotation is doing," Gwynn Jr. said. "I also think, offensively, somebody's got to have another MVP-type season, whether it's [Manny] Machado, whether it's Tatis Jr., whether it's [Eric] Hosmer. There's a number of guys that can do it on this team, but one of those guys have got to have that kind of year, much like they did last year. There's two of them last year that had that year in a short season, in Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado.
"So, I think that's what's going to have to take place. That Dodgers team, barring any injury, is going to look very similar to the way they are right now. I don't think the Padres, at this point, have played their best baseball. So that's encouraging when I look at this 9-5 record that they have."
The entire baseball conversation between Gwynn Jr. and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.