The San Diego Padres (47-36, 21-18 home) host the San Francisco Giants (41-39, 20-19 away) in the series opener of a four-game set that will close out the week. The two California franchises have already faced each other six times this year, with the Padres holding a 4-2 advantage.
Thursday’s first pitch is at 9:40 p.m. EST inside Petco Park in San Diego, California. The Padres are favored at -135, and the over-under total is seven runs.
What to Know – San Francisco Giants
San Francisco ended a six-game losing streak last night with a victory over the Diamondbacks. The losing streak has dropped Giants to third in the National League West, 10.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The expected starter for San Francisco is right-hander Logan Webb (7-3, 3.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP). The talented 25-year-old wants to bounce back after taking his third loss of the season the last time he toed the rubber. Webb has thrown 97.2 innings this season, surrendering 34 earned runs on 87 hits and 23 walks with 86 strikeouts.
Joc Pederson and Wilmer Flores have driven in 41 runs apiece to lead the Giants’ scoring attack. Pederson is the only player in a San Francisco uniform to have over ten home runs. Thairo Estrada has a .256 batting average with 11 stolen bases and 40 runs scored.
San Francisco hits .236 as a team, 22nd in the majors, scoring 4.7 runs per game. The Giants pitching staff is 21st in the league with a 4.08 team earned run average.
What to Know – San Diego Padres
San Diego has been on a tough stretch of their own, dropping eight of their last ten contests. The Padres sit in second in the NL West but have fallen six games behind the Dodgers.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove (8-2, 2.25 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) is expected to take the mound for the hosts. After an 8-0 start to the season, Musgrove has dropped his last two outings and seen his ERA jump in the process.
Still, for the year, the 29-year-old has logged 92.0 innings, allowing 23 earned runs, 68 hits, 19 walks, and striking out 92.
Playing without Fernando Tatis Jr. for most of the year, the Padres offense has leaned on the play of Manny Machado to keep their playoff hopes alive. Machado leads the team in almost every offensive category, hitting .316 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI. Luke Voit has stepped up with ten home runs and 35 RBI after joining the Padres in the offseason.
The Padres average 4.7 runs per game behind an offense that ranks 17th in the MLB with a .241 batting average. The pitching staff for San Diego is fifth in the majors sporting a 3.60 team ERA.
The Pick is In
Thursday’s NL West battle will be a solid pitching matchup between two of the best in the majors. Both teams have seen their struggles recently, but the Padres have lost four straight at home and get back on track in the series opener.
The Pick: San Diego Padres ML
