Slumping Padres Travel to Arizona for Four-Game Series
Chase Field, Arizona
After dropping the two-game series against the Oakland A’s, the San Diego Padres have now dropped six of their last eight games and haven’t won a series since June 11-13, when they won two out of three games against the St.Louis Cardinals. They hope to change their fortunes against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who they face in a four game series beginning on July 5 and ending on July 8.
This will be the second series between the Diamondbacks and the Padres. The D’Backs won two games out of three against the Friars at Chase Field April 20-22. The Padres will hope to turn things around in this series and hope they can get a winning streak going.
Game 1: Eric Lauer (3-5, 5.08 ERA) vs Shelby Miller (0-2, 11.42 ERA)
Lauer was unable to post a third straight quality start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing five innings in a 6-3 loss, with Lauer receiving the loss. Lauer allowed six runs to cross the plate on nine hits, striking out three and walking none. Three of those runs were unearned for Lauer while his ERA ticked up to 5.08
After a lengthy DL stint, Miller has returned to the D’Backs rotation and surrendered eleven earned runs in his two starts. Miller’s last star was not as promising, allowing six runs on nine hits over five innings pitched. He will be making his third start of the year.
Game 2: Joey Lucchesi (4-3, 3.36 ERA) vs Zack Godley (9-6, 5.07 ERA)
In his second start since coming off the DL, Lucchesi looked as sharp as he had before, pitching five scoreless innings while striking out five Pirates. He picked up his fourth win of the season while lowering his ERA to 3.26.
Godley had a four game winning streak snapped in his last start against the San Francisco Giants, serving up seven runs on nine hits in only four innings pitched. Over his last seven starts, Godley is 5-2 with a 5.89 ERA.
Game 3: Tyson Ross (5-6, 3.78 ERA) vs Robbie Ray (3-1, 4.89 ERA)
Ross had a start to forget against the Pirates, allowing seven runs in five innings while surrendering a grand slam to Corey Dickerson. In his last start against the D’Backs, Ross came four outs away from collecting the first no-hitter in Padres history only to lose it in the eight inning. In his last seven games, he is 1-3 with a 4.76 ERA.
Ray spent some time on the DL with an oblique injury, but he has since come back t make two starts for Arizona. In his last start, Ray was hit hard to the tune of six runs in five innings while allowing two home runs. Ray had a 4.01 ERA before landing on the DL.
Game 4: Clayton Richard (7-8, 4.46 ERA) vs Zack Greinke (9-5, 3.36 ERA)
The veteran Richard lost his cool in the sixth inning against the Oakland A’s, allowing five runs to score in the sixth inning. Richard would be tagged with a loss, his second straight. Richard had a solid June, going 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA.
Greinke was solid in his previous outing against the Cardinals, pitching six and two-thirds innings while allowing two runs in a winning effort. Greinke has pitched well over the last seven games, going 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA while walking ten batters and striking out 40.
Players to watch
Wil Myers (SD): The outfielder seems to have found his stroke after missing all of May with an oblique injury. Myers has been hitting .296 over his last seven games, going 8-27 with a home run, six RBI, three walks and a stolen base. His oblique injury has passed and Myers has remained healthy as he makes up for lost time.
Hunter Renfroe (SD): Renfroe is another batter who has been looking better as of late, going 8-25 in his last seven games with a home run and three RBI while walking three times and swiping a base. He must keep this up if he wants to keep his roster spot if/when Franchy Codero returns.
Paul Goldschmidt (ARI): The All-Star first baseman has been having another quality season while leading Arizona in home runs. He has been on a hot streak over the last seven games, going 11-26 with two home runs and seven RBI. He is hitting .426 over the last seven games.
Jake Lamb (ARI): Lamb has had a bit of a down year, but is still enjoying a nice three-game hitting streak. In this streak, Lamb has hit .385 with two doubles and a RBI.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.