Padres Look to Roll On vs. Giants

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Jul 14, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; National League catcher Buster Posey (28) of the San Francisco Giants hits an infield single against the American League during the third inning of the 2015 MLB All Star Game at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres (43-49) start a series against the San Francisco Giants (49-43) on a 4-game winning streak. The Padres are heating up at the right time and have gotten off to a perfect start in the second half. It will be a challenge to keep it up against a good Giants pitching staff.

The Giants are just 3.5 games back of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. They are coming off of a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams enter this series with winning streaks of at least four games.

Game 1 Monday, 7:10pm

Ian Kennedy (4-9, 4.91 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (5-7, 4.68 ERA)

Kennedy has three starts against the Giants this season. He is 1-1 and has not allowed more than one run in each of those starts. He is looking to bounce back from his previous start where he didn’t even get out of the 5th inning, allowing four runs.

Hudson will be coming off of the disabled list and making his first start since June 26th. He has not faced the Padres since his first start of the year on April 9th. He went 6 1/3 innings and did not allow a run but did walk five. He is 1-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 8 starts at Petco Park.

Offensive Player to Watch: Brandon Belt

Belt is having a solid season for the Giants. He has 9 home runs and 25 doubles. He also has an .813 OPS. In 31 career at-bats against Kennedy, Belt is hitting .323 with two home runs and four RBI.

Jul 11, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; San Diego Padres designated hitter Matt Kemp (27) watches his two run home run in the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Tuesday, 7:10pm

Odrisamer Despaigne (3-6, 4.64 ERA) vs. Chris Heston (9-5, 3.39 ERA)

Despaigne’s ERA is half a run better at home than on the road. He has appeared twice against the Giants this year and has allowed just two runs in 9 2/3 innings. This will be his first start since July 4th.

Heston is 3-1 since his no-hitter on June 9th. He has faced the Padres twice and has allowed 7 runs in 12 innings. His ERA is almost double (4.44) on the road what it is at home (2.57). He has a 1.80 ERA so far in July.

Offensive Player to Watch: Matt Kemp

Kemp had a slow first half, that much is clear. But if we know anything about Mr. Kemp, it’s that he is a second half hitter. His average is seven points better from .286 to .293. His OPS goes from .818 to .852. Also, his at-bats between home runs goes down from over 28 to 22 at-bats. We have already seen evidence of this. In his last seven games he is hitting .429 with three home runs and 8 RBI. He is 2 for 6 with an RBI against Heston.

Jul 17, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher James Shields (33) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3 Wednesday, 12:40pm

James Shields (8-3, 3.92 ERA) vs. Matt Cain (1-1, 5.06 ERA)

Shields got his first win since June 3rd in his last start. He is looking for revenge against the Giants. In his last start against them, he was chased after 4 innings by allowing a whopping 7 runs on 9 hits. He also can win consecutive starts for the first time since May 8th and 13th.

Cain’s season is only three starts old. In two of those starts, he has allowed at least four runs. He has 34 career starts against the Padres. He is 7-14 with a 3.18 ERA and 4-8 with a 2.33 ERA at Petco Park.

Offensive Player to Watch: Justin Upton

It will be interesting to see just how much longer Upton will be a Padre. He has been struggling lately, hovering around the Mendoza line (.200) since June, but he has hit San Francisco well this year. He is hitting .297 against them and in 40 career at-bats against Matt Cain and is hitting an even .300.

This is a big series for San Diego. They need to win this series and I predict that they will. Their offense is starting to hit better and they have favorable pitching matchups. If they don’t want to lose pieces in two weeks, the time for winning is now.

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