San Diego Padres: Series preview: Padres vs. Giants

The San Diego Padres look to continue their dominance over the last place San Francisco Giants this weekend as they travel to the Bay Area.

The seven game road trip has gotten off to the worst start possible. In three ugly losses to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, the Padres were outscored 36-17. Never has the club needed an opponent like the Giants this badly for a long time.

The Padres come in at 40-54, clearly sellers at the deadline, and meeting this season’s expectations. The Giants, on the other hand, have fallen far short of their expectations with the NL West’s worst record at 37-59.

Most of all, San Diego needs to get back on track in this series, and they need to see their pitching staff recover from a disastrous past three days. But winning would be nice as well, and burying the Giants further into last place and solidifying fourth place in the division would keep 2017 from being a total lost cause.

Thursday, 7:15 PM: Chacin vs. Bumgarner

The series begins with a rematch from one last week’s matchups. Madison Bumgarner just returned from the disabled list last week and had a strong start against the Padres. Now, he makes his second start against virtually the same lineup.

Jhoulys Chacin has been up and down all year, but a strong start here is key. The Padres know what to expect from Bumgarner, and they know they will be in deep trouble in the series opener if Chacin can’t turn in a quality start.

Friday, 7:15 PM: Cahill vs. Samardzija

Trevor Cahill takes the mound Friday night, again in a rematch. Last Sunday, in a 7-1 victory, Cahill defeated Jeff Samardzija by pitching six and 2/3 innings almost flawlessly.

Repeating this won’t be easy for the Padres, but they know that a matchup like this can be favorable for them, even away from Petco Park.

The key to victory on Friday will be getting to the veteran Samardzija early in the game and not allowing him to get into any sort of rhythm. Unlike Thursday’s game, San Diego will have a better idea what they’re going to get out of their starter in Cahill. Ultimately, this could turn into a bullpen game, which is good news for neither the Giants or Padres.

Saturday, 1:05 PM: Perdomo vs. Moore

If there were a time for the Padres to break out the bats, it would be in Saturday afternoon’s contest at AT&T Park. On the mound for the Giants is Matt Moore, a southpaw who has had a season to forget. The 28-year-old is 3-10 this season with a 5.81 ERA.

Early offense and plentiful insurance would certainly be welcomed by San Diego. Not that starter Luis Perdomo won’t pitch effectively, but it is undeniable that the 24-year-old is not the same pitcher away from San Diego. Hopefully, the right-hander will give the Friars some innings, but it is safe to say the offense will need to provide some support.

Sunday, 1:05 PM: Lamet vs TBD

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Before the rotation turns over next week, the fifth starter, Dinelson Lamet, will finish off the weekend series. Lamet is 3-4 in nine starts with a 6.40 ERA, but has shown improvement over the course of the season.

The good news is, the Giants don’t exactly have a fifth starter to counter Lamet. Johnny Cueto is the ace, and would be next after this rotation spot. But this last place club is most certainly not going to shift to a four man rotation, so their starter for Sunday is “TBD”.

Next: Trade Deadline Deals: Brad Hand

The Padres have won all three of their series against the Giants, each two games to one. In total, this makes them 6-3. It is much harder to win a four game series, but all things considered, this is a reasonable objective for a San Diego team looking to get back on track.