Fansided

Padres End Road Trip with Four in Atlanta

By Nick Lee |
5 of 5
Next

May 23, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of Turner Field during a game between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres (29-29) head into “hot”-lanta to face the Atlanta Braves (27-29) for a four-game series. Actually this week it is looking more like “wet”-lanta as there is a chance for rain and storms in each game of this series. This is normal in the South in the summer.

The Padres are .500 and are coming off of a series win in Cincinnati. The 2014 Padres played just two games while at or above .500, when they were 1-0 and 1-1. This season they have played a total of 37 games at or above .500 so far. Things are looking up.

The Braves have played better than some thought after losing a lot of firepower this offseason. The Braves have the Padres to thank for that, when they took Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel. They are coming off of a series loss at home to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In injury news, things are looking at lot better than last week. Unfortunately, the good news does not involve Brandon Morrow. He had a setback with his shoulder, leaving his 2nd rehab start after just 49 pitches. There are no additional updates quite yet.

Melvin Upton Jr., another former Brave, will make his Padres debut in this series after hitting .280 with a home run, 6 RBI and 4 stolen bases at Triple-A El Paso. Wil Myers went 2 for 5 with a run scored in his first rehab game Sunday. There are rumors he could join the Padres again before the end of this series.

More from Friars on Base

Jun 2, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (22) pitches during the first inning against the New York Mets at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 Monday, 4:10pm

Ian Kennedy (3-5, 6.60 ERA) vs. Shelby Miller (5-2, 1.89 ERA)

Kennedy had a great start after a terrible one. He went 6 innings, struck out a season-high 8 and got the win against the New York Mets. He now has 45 strikeouts in 45 innings. Kennedy has pitched well against the Braves in his career. In 7 starts, he is 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA.

His ERA is a little higher at Turner Field at 5.40. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is hitting .600 with a home run and 8 RBI against Kennedy.

Miller has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. He was dealt to the Braves from the Cardinals in the offseason in the deal that sent Jason Heyward to St. Louis. He took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Marlins. He did get knocked around in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing 4 runs and walking 6.

Miller has 4 career appearances against the Padres with a 4.79 ERA.

More from Friars on Base

May 2, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin (25) hits a two run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Tuesday, 4:10pm

James Shields (7-0, 3.58 ERA) vs. Mike Foltynewicz (3-2, 4.29 ERA)

Shields is the first Padres starter to start a season 7-0 in the last 30 years. He is 2nd in the National League with 92 strikeouts. He earned his 7th win last time out against the Mets when he went 7 innings and allowed 2 runs. Before running into trouble in the 7th, he looked as if he could have pitched a complete game.

Foltynewicz is in his second year of big league service. He is making his 8th career start. He is coming off of one of the worst starts of his career, he allowed 8 hits and 4 earned runs while walking two in 5 2/3 innings. He has never faced the Padres.

The hottest Braves hitter right now played for the Padres for four seasons before being dealt at the start of the season. Cameron Maybin is hitting .579 in the last week with a 1.158 OPS.

More from Friars on Base

May 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp (27) singles during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3 Wednesday, 4:10pm

Tyson Ross (3-5, 3.75 ERA) vs. Williams Perez (1-0, 3.55 ERA)

Ross wasn’t at his sharpest in his last start against the Reds. He did earn the win after pitching 5 innings and striking out 7. He allowed two runs and walked 3 as well. He only has one career start against the Braves and it came last year at Petco Park. He went 6 innings, struck out 7 and allowed two runs in a no-decision.

Perez will be making his 5th career start. The 24 year-old Venezuelan made is major league debut on May 8th. In his last start, he allowed four runs and walking five in five innings. He was signed by the Braves in 2009.

The Padres have awoken offensively this past week. Matt Kemp has been slowly snapping out of his slump. In the last week, Kemp is hitting .346 with a home run and a .931 OPS. Yonder Alonso has played very well since coming off of the DL. In 5 games he is hitting .421 with a home run and 6 RBI.

More from Friars on Base

Jun 6, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Justin Upton (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 Thursday, 9:10am

Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.05 ERA) vs. Julio Teheran (4-2, 4.87 ERA)

Cashner did not pitch well in his last start against the Reds. He allowed 7 runs and walked five in 5 2/3 innings. He also allowed 5 runs in his start before that. Cashner has been the victim of bad luck this season but the last two starts have been his own doing. The offense bailed him out against the Reds and he got a no-decision.

He has a 5.40 ERA in two games against the Braves. This will be his first career start at Turner Field.

Teheran is 24 years old yet he is pitching in his 5th season for Atlanta. He is a young budding star in this rotation. Last year he won 14 games with a 2.89 ERA and was an All-Star. This season he has struggled a bit. His last three starts have not been stellar. He has allowed 15 runs and walked 7 in his last 3 starts combined.

He will be making his fourth career start against the Friars. He has a 5.79 ERA in 18 2/3 innings for his career against San Diego.

The Padres have momentum heading into this series. At .500, they are making progress and shortening the gap between them and the top of the NL West. With a series win here, they would be above .500 heading into the biggest series of the season so far in my opinion, a weekend series against the first place Dodgers. I predict a series win, three games out of four.

Upton hit 56 homers in the two years he played for Atlanta and he has 32 career homers at Turner Field. Kimbrel hopes to get an opportunity to pitch against a team for whom he notched 186 saves in five years. The homecomings will be fun to watch as the Padres look to continue trending upward.

More from Friars on Base

Next
Home / Padres News

Schedule