Padres Host Interleague Series with Astros

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Apr 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) gets a single during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres (11-9) host the upstart Houston Astros (11-7) from the American League West this week for a three-game set. Both of these teams are in similar situations having experienced a run of sub-par seasons, but recent acquisitions have given the franchises new hope.

The Astros have had a road trip to remember, winning a series in Seattle and then sweeping the Oakland Athletics. They are coming in hot to San Diego. This team is young and it has no shortage of firepower.

Houston is towards the bottom in team batting average at .226. However, when they do it, they make it count as they are seventh in the big leagues with 22 home runs to start the season.

The Padres are coming off of a frustrating series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, losing two out of three games. The pitching staff allowed 11 runs on Saturday night. For a while the Padres began to struggle to score runs. That ended that same night and they were able to muster enough offense to salvage the finale.

The Friars are sixth in the majors and third in the National League in hitting with a .286 average. They are also only second to the Dodgers in the National League in home runs.

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Apr 22, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher James Shields (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 Monday, 7:10pm

James Shields (2-0, 3.24 ERA) vs. Collin McHugh (3-0, 2.41 ERA)

Monday’s series opener looks to be a good pitching matchup. Shields has pitched well for the Padres to start the season although he is coming off of a start where he allowed three runs and walked three hitters in six innings. He has gone at least six innings in each of the starts he has made so far.

He will make his second start of the year at Petco Park. He has four career starts against Houston with a 1.74 ERA and a 2-1 record. In interleague games (which up to this point have been against National League teams) he has a career 15-9 record with a 4.07 ERA in 33 starts.

McHugh continues to build off of his strong 2014 season. He has won each of his starts so far this season. He had a great 11-strikeout performance against the A’s two weeks ago. He has never faced the Padres and is 0-2 with a 3.54 ERA in three interleague starts.

The only Padre hitter with any experience against McHugh is Will Middlebrooks; he is 2 for 3. Houston’s best hitter so far is of course Jose Altuve. The David Eckstein-like second baseman is hitting .321 so far this year.

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Apr 23, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross (38) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Tuesday, 7:10pm

Tyson Ross (1-1, 3.97 ERA) vs. Roberto Hernandez (0-2, 3.57 ERA)

Ross is coming off of a shaky start in Colorado when he walked three batters in the first inning including one that walked in the first run of the game. He walked four total and was tagged for the loss. He did strike out seven in the five innings but he just could not overcome his abysmal first inning.

He looks to rebound against the Astros, whom Ross has never faced. He has made nine starts in interleague play and has a 3.12 ERA in those games. Ross is only one strikeout behind Shields for the team lead.

Hernandez (formerly Fausto Carmona) enters his tenth season in the big leagues and his first with Houston. He has a 4.50 ERA in three starts against the Padres and he faced the Friars twice last year and lost both times. He is coming off of a loss against the Seattle Mariners after allowing three runs in seven innings.

Justin Upton has the most experience against Hernandez with nine plate appearances. Unfortunately he is only 1 for 7 but he does have three RBI. Upton has been hot lately, however. In his last three games, he has two home runs, five RBI and three hits.

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Apr 24, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner (34) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3 Wednesday, 12:40pm

Andrew Cashner (1-3, 2.63 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (2-0, 0.62 ERA)

Cashner has been the victim of bad luck lately. He got tagged for the loss against the Dodgers even though he pitched seven solid innings, only allowing two runs and striking out six. He looks to get back into the win column with hopefully some run support.

Cashner has made one start but has appeared in 9 games against the Astros. He posts a 2-1 record with a 4.60 ERA against Houston. He also has a 2.17 ERA in interleague games. We all remember his interleague start againt the Detroit Tigers last year when he allowed but one hit in a complete game shutout.

Keuchel is entering his fourth season in the big leagues, all with the Astros. He has made one start against the Padres when he went 6 innings and allowed one run and didn’t factor in the decision.

Derek Norris has plenty of experience against Keuchel. He has 23 plate appearances from his days in the Astros division with the Oakland A’s. He is hitting .286 with a .348 on-base percentage against him. This will be a good matchup to look for as Norris can help the other Padres hitters against Keuchel.

The Padres limp into this new week after a bad end to the week. The Padres will dust themselves off and I predict they will win this series two games to one. Both of these teams have started the month off well and they look to continue it this week.

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