Series Preview: Padres Look to Roll On vs. Giants

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.