Padres Game Preview vs. Diamondbacks

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Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Just when it looked like the Padres were going to start playing compelling baseball this year, they fall back to the same old Padres. The team has now lost 6 of their last 8 games, but ironically enough it’s been the pitching that’s let them down. The offense has put up 4 runs a game over that stretch, but the pitching staff that has been one of the best in baseball has shown some weakness.

Now the staff will get a crack at one of the worst lineups in baseball in the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team ranks 16th in batting average, 25th in OBP, 14th in slugging percentage and 26th in fWAR. While it may not be as bad as the Padres, it’s still not an offense t be proud of. They’ve also sent off Martin Prado and Gerrado Parra, who may not be fantastic hitter, it’s still a blow to their already weak lineup.

For the Padres this is exactly the team they needed to see at low point like their at right now.

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching Preview:

Taking the ball tonight will be Odrisamer Despaigne (3-4, 3.28 ERA). Despaigne has had weird season. He shot through the minors and found himself in the big league rotation. Then he took the world by storm with 5 straight quality starts, in which he allowed just 5 runs and almost no hit the Mets. Since those 5 starts he’s made 5 more and has put up a 5.88 ERA in that time and only making it through the 6th inning once. He’s also walking 4.15 batters per 9 innings while striking out just 6.92.

His last start may have been the worst of the bunch, getting tagged for 5 runs on 6 hits in just 4 innings against the Cardinals, but it was coming off his best start of the 5 tossing 7 shutout innings against the Rockies. Those 2 starts sum up who Despaigne has been all year. Either he’ll totally dominate hitters or they’ll totally dominate him. Hopefully he’ll take advantage of Arizona’s offensive shortcomings and get back on track to what he was when he first got to the big leagues.

Opposing him will be Josh Collmenter (8-7 4.31 ERA). Despite starting the year in the bullpen, but he made the full time transition to the rotation in mid April and has had his ups and downs. Recently he’s been on one of his downs. Starting from where we looked at Despaigne falls from grace, July 26th, we’ll look at Collmenter. Since the 26th Collmenter has made 4 starts going 0-2 with a 8.50 ERA. His stats are hurt by his worst start of the 4 where he gave up 6 runs on 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings against the Phillies, but his other 3 starts haven’t been pretty. While he’s kept his walks low and struck out a batter for every inning he’s pitched, untimely home runs have burned him. The ball carries well in the Arizona heat, so his home run problems are more likely to continue than not.

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Player to Watch:

At the deadline the Padres made moves acquire smaller pieces that in the grand scheme of things won’t be the faces of the team for years to come, but are building blocks to a better team down the line. One of those guys is Abraham Almonte. In his 14 games since joining the Friars he’s hit .333/.340/.467 and has also played some pretty great defense to go along with it. Obviously no one expects Almonte to be a .333 hitter for his entire Padre career, but the promising start gives us some hope that he’ll be something.

Tonight we’ll get to see Almonte get some at bats against a struggling pitcher in a hitters park while in the hottest stretch of his short career. If you are a Padres fan who is struggling to find any reason to turn on the game that should be one of them. All of his at bats something special could happen and since he almost never walks, you’ll most definitely see some swings.

Another reason to watch is his aforementioned defense. He’s already notched a couple of outfield assists and made a few nice catches to go along with it. With Cameron Maybin returning to center field he’s been relegated to the corner where he can’t show off all his range, but he still has the capability make great plays.

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Keys to Padre Victory:

The Padres are looking to get back on track after dropping back to back series for the first time since the All Star break. If they won’t to get back into the win column they’ll have to execute in some key areas.

Get Despaigne Through 6:

In most cases when a pitcher makes it deep into a ballgame it’s because they’re pitching well so this should be a given, but Despaigne always seems to carry his early performance with him. If he starts strong he ends strong, if he starts weak he ends weak. In his starts where he’s pitched 6+ innings he’s allowed 2 or fewer runs. When he hasn’t he’s allowed 4 or more. If Despaigne can get deep in the ballgame, it’ll only take a few runs to get the win.

Take Collmenter Deep:

Josh Collmenter has allowed 6 home runs in his last 4 starts, and if you watched the home run derby when it was in Arizona you know the ball flies off the bat there. Those two things play into the Padres hands tonight. The offense has been much improved of late, so don’t be surprised if you see guys taking some big hacks against Collmenter.

Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Predictions: Padres win 6-4

I think after 5 innings we’ll have seen the end of both Collmenter and Despaigne nights and the final score. Both guys have been struggling and the park will do them no favors when things start to spiral out of control like they have in recent starts by the 2 of them. I do believe that the bullpens will come in and shut both offenses down after the starters’ early exits.

I also think we’ll see a pair of Padres bombs. If I had to pick the pair to do it I’d put my proverbial money Tommy Medica and Rhymer Liriano. Both have shown they have some power in their bats and they know the ball is going to carry well in the desert.

Padres Kick Off Series With the D-Backs

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