"Padres have Michael King, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease" - MLB insider says San Diego's rotation better than Dodgers, Yankees even without Joe Musgrove

MLB and San Diego Padres insiders Steven Woods, Ben Higgins and Paul Reindl, along with ESPN insider Jeff Passan, on Monday talked about the Padres' pitching rotation. According to Passan, San Diego's pitching staff is better than that of other contenders such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees at the moment.

The Friars were on a roll during the closing weeks of the regular season, and sealed their place in the postseason by finishing atop the NL Wild Card standings. In their opening playoff series against the Atlanta Braves, they looked convincing and beat their opponents twice in a row at Petco Park to move on to the NLDS.

On Oct. 7's episode of "Ben and Woods," Passan talked about San Diego being "the best team left" in the competition, backed by their solid pitching staff.

"Of what I have seen so far this postseason, I think the Padres are the best team left actually. They have Michael King, Yu Darvish and Dylan Cease," Passan said. [1:49]

"Even without Joe Musgrove, they probably have more pitching than the Yankees, and absolutely have more pitching than the Dodgers. They are managed well, they're a really good team," Passan added. [2:00]

San Diego Padres record resounding victory against Dodgers, tie NLDS heading back to Petco Park

On Sunday, the Padres routed the Dodgers, beating them 10-2 at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Following the Dodgers' win in the opening game of the series, this was a hugely important win for the Friars, bringing the series back to 1-1, with the next two games to be played at Petco Park.

The visitors knew they needed a big game and started off well. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo home run to give his team the lead in the first inning.

David Peralta, Jackson Merrill, Kyle Higashioka and Xander Bogaerts also hit it out of the park, before Tatis capped off a comfortable win and excellent performance at the plate individually, with his second homer in the ninth inning.

Starting pitcher Yu Darvish also had a great outing, allowing only three hits and a single earned run in seven innings, with his defense backing him on many occasions.

Next, the Padres head back home where they have looked strong all season, as they look to take the lead for the first time in the NLDS.