Padres News: Padres vs Dodgers, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!
I can’t begin to express the importance of this upcoming three game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres currently sit five games behind the Dodgers for the National League West and are currently four games back in the National League Wild Card race.
The Padres have lost seven out of their last 10 games, and the feelings about the team have never been lower than they presently are. Despite all the negative criticism about the team, they are only a winning streak away from getting back into the race. They most certainly have the players for such streak, so Padres fans must remain positive. Not an easy task for San Diego Sports fans.
Last time in Los Angeles, the Padres only managed to win two out of the three games to open the season. The Dodgers have an impressive home record of 17-5 and will be tough to beat at home.
Game one of the series brings us Zack Greinke against Andrew Cashner. Cashner is looking for his second win on the season, while receiving absolutely no run support. Greinke is coming off his first loss of the season. The Colorado Rockies handed him a 7-1 loss on Saturday.
The Padres have been struggling to find a consistent batting order and that does not seem to be changing anytime soon. The platooning of Cory Spangenberg, Will Middlebrooks and Jedd Gyorko seems to continue. Yangervis Solarte has established himself as an everyday player thus far this season and should be in the lineup on an everyday basis. The shortstop position continues to provide hardly any offense, as both Clint Barmes and Alexi Amarista are struggling.
Clayton Kershaw will miss the series as he took the loss in Thursday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. That is a nice break for the Padres. They need to find a way to get to Greinke and that will not be an easy task. Solarte leads off for the first time against Grienke tonight followed by Spangenberg. Clint Barmes makes a start at shortstop and Will Middlebrooks will be at third base. Without Wil Myers or Yonder Alonso this team has struggled to hit, hopefully that trend ends tonight.
The rest of the series:
Saturday Night 7:10 PM start
Ian Kennedy (2-3 6.75 ERA) vs Mike Bolsinger (2-0 1.04 ERA)
Sunday Aftenoon 1:10 PM start
James Shields (5-0 3.74 ERA) vs Carlos Frias (3-1 2.55 ERA)
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.