Padres Finish Season By The Bay

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June 24, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin (24, right) slides into third base ahead of the tag by San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48, left) during the third inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, there will be no October baseball in San Diego this year. The Padres (76-82) end their season on the road against the Giants (86-73). The Padres won the series these two played last weekend. The Giants are in the middle of a playoff hunt. Their “magic number” is one as they need only one more win or the Brewers to lose one more game.

They are still without Matt Cain and Angel Pagan, who are both lost for the year. They have had some rookies step up and play well because of injuries. These two teams will play a 4-game weekend set and then the regular season will come to a close. The Padres and Giants have played 15 games this year against each other with the Padres having won 9.

Sep 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (22) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 will feature Ian Kennedy (12-13, 3.76 ERA) against Ryan Vogelsong (8-12, 3.96 ERA). These two pitchers faced each other on Sunday, with Kennedy coming out victorious. He pitched 6.2 innings, struck out 5 and only walking one, earning his 12^th win. Kennedy is 2-2 in the month of September. This will be his last start of a good season as he has eclipsed the 200 strikeout plateau. Vogelsong pitched 5 innings on Sunday, allowing 4 runs but only 2 were earned. He has not won a game since August 29^th, he is 0-3 this month.

Another reason for the Giants success is Hunter Pence. He leads the team with 179 hits and he also has 20 home runs. A key stat for Pence is that he has played in all 158 games for the Giants this year. Playing every day and hitting .280 will make a great impact, and that is what Pence has done. He also has a team-high 10 triples.

Sep 22, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jake Peavy (22) in the first inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Satuday’s matchup will be interesting as it features the veteran Eric Stults (8-17, 4.42 ERA) against former long-time Padre ace Jake Peavy (7-13, 3.78). Stults pitched well in the shutout win against the Rockies earlier this week. His last start against the Giants was on the 4^th of July. He got the win pitching 7 innings, not allowing a run and only surrendering 4 hits. Jake Peavy has played for the Red Sox and Giants this year. The Giants acquired him during the summer to help with the playoff push. Peavy last pitched for the Padres in 2009, then was traded to the White Sox. He was a two-time All-Star with San Diego and he won the 2007 Cy Young and Pitcher’s Triple Crown for the National League. He is considered one of the best pitchers in San Diego history.

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Pablo Sandoval has been a staple for the Giants offense for several years. He is hitting .281 this year with 16 home runs and 73 RBI. He also has 26 doubles.

Apr 30, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Robbie Erlin (41) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Robbie Erlin (4-4, 4.53 ERA) will start off the series and season finale against Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98 ERA). Erlin has faced the Giants two times this year, he lost both starts. He had 8 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. Erlin has not lost a start since the last time he faced the Giants on April 30th. Bumgarner got knocked around in his last start for 4 earned runs on 6 hits in the loss. He has only faced the Padres once this year and he was tagged for the loss. He allowed 4 runs on 7 hits.

The Padres just need to win one of the games to have a better season than last year. My prediction is that the Padres will split this series. The Padres have played well at AT&T Park in the past and they look to finish the 2014 season with good momentum. This season has been full of ups and downs, but finishing strong is important.

Thanks to our friends at Knoda.com, you can make your predictions against our staff writers here at Friars On Base. How do you think the Padres will finish up their final series of the season now that the Giants have already clinched a playoff berth?

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