Padres Host Giants For Weekend
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres (71-81) start a 3-game weekend series against the San Francisco Giants (84-68). The Giants are in the heat of the playoff race, as they lead the Wild Card standings by 2 games on the Pirates and they are also 2.5 games back of the Dodgers for the NL West division lead.
The Giants are coming off a series win on the road against the Diamondbacks. The Padres are fresh off a series win against the Phillies. The Giants are without Matt Cain and Marco Scutaro for the rest of the season. Michael Morse and Angel Pagan are also banged up but we may see them return sometime this weekend. The Padres have a bit of a banged up bullpen, but Blaine Boyer and Joaquin Benoit could both pitch before this series is over. The Padres need to be at their best to win this series, since the Giants are scrapping for a playoff spot.
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Odrisamer Despaigne (3-7, 3.63 ERA) looks to bounce back from some rough starts against the veteran Tim Hudson (9-11, 3.41 ERA). Despaigne has allowed 9 earned runs in his last 2 starts and has not won since August 12th. He last pitched against the Giants on July 5th and threw 6 innings while only allowing one run on 2 hits.
Hudson has not won since August 22nd. He really struggled in his last start against the Dodgers. He only lasted 1 inning while getting knocked around for 6 runs on 8 hits. He has allowed 14 runs in his last 3 starts.
A main reason why the Giants are in contention is that of the bat and leadership of Buster Posey. He has had a good season, hitting 21 home runs with 86 RBI and a .310 average. An even bigger stat is that he has played in 139 games so far this year and has rarely missed more than a game at a time. The Friars need to tread carefully with Posey as he has a .341 career batting average against San Diego.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Cashner (4-7, 2.20 ERA) looks for an encore from his 2-hit shutout when he faces Yusmeiro Petit (5-4, 3.64 ERA). Cashner had not allowed more than 2 runs in 6 straight starts. With all his injuries, he is yet to pitch against the Giants this year. He is 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA in his career against the Giants. Petit has pitched well in his last 2 starts, allowing 4 runs in 16 innings including a complete game against the Diamondbacks. He has appeared in relief against the Friars a few times this year but his last start against them was in April when he threw 6 shutout innings in the win.
Another bat that has been key to the Giants success is that of Hunter Pence. He has 19 home runs, 72 RBI, a .290 average and 29 doubles. He has a .239 career average against San Diego with 8 home runs.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Ian Kennedy (11-13, 3.80 ERA) starts the finale as the Padres don their Sunday camo uniforms one more time this year. His counterpart will be Ryan Vogelsong (8-11, 3.98 ERA). Kennedy has started against the Giants more than any other team in his career. He is 7-4 with a 2.66 ERA in 18 starts against San Francisco. He got the win in his last start thanks to run support, as he gave up 3 runs with 4 walks. He last faced the Giants in June, when he got the loss by allowing 4 runs in 6.1 innings. Vogelsong is 0-2 with 12 earned runs in 3 starts so far this month. The Padres have performed well against Vogelsong in the past, as he has a 5.63 ERA in 8 starts.
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Michael Morse has been banged up lately but he has been crucial in the Giants run this year. He is a big, strong slugger and he has burned the Padres already this year. Many remember that he was the one that hit a home run to cause Huston Street to blow his first save of the year. He has 16 home runs this year with a .280 average and he leads the team with 32 doubles.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
The season series between these two teams is tied at 6 games a piece. The Padres have played well against the Giants this year, save for the no-hitter that Tim Lincecum threw earlier this year. The Padres should look to Yasmani Grandal among others to get them the series victory this weekend. He has hit 3 home runs against the Giants this year.
My prediction is that the Padres will win this series. Kennedy and Cashner should be able to give us a great chance to win with low amounts of offense. Despaigne has been struggling and the Giants have a good enough offense to exploit him. The Padres should win this series two games to one. This is the final weekend of the season. The Padres are 8-5 this year when wearing their camo jerseys for home Sunday games. This weekend will be the final home weekend series.