Padres Take On Mets To Begin Second Half

After a four day layoff, the Padres return to action for the second half of the season. Some players e.g. Huston Street, Chris Denorfia, and Chase Headley, it could be their final audition before being traded. For players such as Will Venable, Yasmani Grandal, etc., they could be the ones who remain on the 40-man roster at the end of the season. And for Tyson Ross, Jedd Gyorko, and Rene Rivera, it is a time to continue to grow and progress as a player and be ready for 2015.

Ian Kennedy (7-9, 3.47 ERA) will take the mound against the New York Mets to begin this season’s second act. Kennedy pitched an absolute gem in his final start of the first half. Kennedy pitched 8 shutout innings; he only allowed 3 hits, and 4 walks, while striking out 8. It is to no one’s surprise that many teams are interested in acquiring him before the trade deadline. Yet as the Angels recently found out, it will take a good return to obtain Kennedy’s pitching services, because he does not reach free agency until after the 2015 season.

The Mets counter with the never-aging Bartolo Colon (8-8, 3.99). Only one Padres’ hitter has faced Colon more than 4 times, that player being Carlos Quentin. In 7 ABs, Quentin owns a lifetime .429 BA against Colon. Hopefully Quentin will come out swinging after being able to heal during the All-Star break.

First pitch is at 7:10 pm PDT.

Keep the Faith