Padres End Road Trip with Four in Atlanta

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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.

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