Padres And Despaigne Look To Take The Series From Mets

Jul 5, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher

(40) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Following a night when the Padres’ hit three homeruns and pounded the red hot New York Mets 6-0, San Diego will look to keep the momentum rolling Sunday to take the series.

Last night, the Padres’ bats came alive and All-Star Tyson Ross showed again why he is rising star nailing down his eighth win of the season.

The Padres started things off in the  first inning when first baseman Yasmani Grandal hammered home a 440 ft home run to right center field to start things off. Both Will Venable and Seth Smith added solo shots to help Ross and the Padres nail down their first win in the second half.

Today, the Padres will send to the mound Odrisamer Despaigne (2-1, 1.35 ERA) to continue his hot start. Despaigne has been nothing short of spectacular in his first four starts with the team by not allowing any more than two runs. He comes off an impressive performance right before the break when he went head-to-head with the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw going seven innings allowing two earned runs and tying his career high with seven strike outs despite the loss.  

Meanwhile, the Mets’ counter with youngster Zach Wheeler (5-8, 3.90 ERA) to help take the series. Over his last three starts, Wheeler is hot posting a 1.40 ERA in 19 innings while averaging 8.7 strikeouts a game. In his last start at Petco Park, he fanned 12, but the Padres were able to tag him for four runs earlier this season at Citi Field.

Since Petco Park opened, the Padres own a 23-13 record against the Mets in San Diego, and they will will look to add on this statistic today. Following this series, the Padres will head on the road to open up a three games series with the Chicago Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm PDT.