Padres Look to Hahn to Secure Series Win

Tonight the Padres send Jesse Hahn (6-2, 2.12) to the mound to face the St. Louis Cardinals. Hahn looks to build upon his previous two starts, in which he pitched a combined 12 innings, while allowing only 2 runs and striking out 10. Hahn has had a tremendous season since being called up from Double-A; he has definitely pitched himself into being in the starting rotation next season.

The Cardinals counter with Joe Kelly (2-1, 3.90 ERA). Kelly has been a little bit of Dr. Jekyle and My. Hyde since returning from a left hamstring injury that kept him out of the first three months of the season. Who will we see on the mound tonight against the Padres? The odds are in Kelly’s favor. The Padres’ offense entered Tuesday’s game last in the majors in team OPS (.615), runs per game (3.60), and batting average (2.18).

With that said, the Padres offense has received a shot-in-the-arm with Jedd Gyorko returning from injury and Yangervis Solarte arriving via the Chase Headley trade with the Yankees. With Solarte’s initial success, the loser of the trade may not be between the Yankees and Padres, it may be Everth Cabrera, who has underperformed all season.

First pitch is at 7:10 pm PDT.

Keep the Faith.