San Diego Padres Series Preview vs. San Francisco Giants

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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.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Padres Host Giants For Weekend

Schedule