Padres Look to Take Series Against the Dbacks

Aug 2, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher

(46) throws during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Petco Park. The Padres won 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

With the series-tying win last night, the Padres are now poised to take their first series since May 15th in Cincinnati.  A series win would be a great segway into an off-day, and could help shift the momentum of the team.

Taking the mound tonight for the Padres will be Tim Stauffer (2-0, 1.90 ERA). He’ll be looking to build on his performance in his last start against the Cubs. In his only start of 2014, he pitched 5 shutout innings allowing just 2 hits while striking out 5. It looked like his long layoff from starting had no affect on his performance. Hopefully, that first start helped increase his endurance, and will help him go a little deeper into this outing. Another thing that could help him is his last performance against the Diamondbacks. He’s faced them once out the ‘pen this year, and he tossed 2 scoreless innings, while allowing just 1 hit. If those 2 performances tell us anything, then it means tonight should be a very good outing for Stauffer.

Opposing him will be rookie Chase Anderson (2-0, 5.06 ERA). Anderson will be making just his third major league start tonight. His first 2 starts, although both wins, went vastly differently. His first start he allowed just 1 run in 5 1/3 innings against the White Sox, but in his next start, he was shelled for 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Dodgers. So which Anderson will the Padres see tonight? His rough start against the Dodgers was at home, and the way the ball flies off the bat in the dessert could help them. He has given up 3 home runs in his 2 starts, so that could work in the favor of the Padres’ hitters as well.

No Padres’ hitter has had a chance to see Anderson before, so facing him will be a new experience for the entire lineup. Although he’s just a rookie being pressed into service due to injury, you can never discount the fact that the hitters are unfamiliar with him. Hopefully it won’t have an impact, but for an offense that struggles as much as the Padres, don’t be surprised if that could hurt them.

Hopefully, the Padres’ success from last night translates over to tonight. If they can escape Arizona with a series win, it’d be a great moral victory for them as well as two real hard-fought victories. First pitch is at 6:40 PDT.

Keep The Faith.