San Diego Padres Open Series Against Arizona Diamondbacks

The San Diego Padres conclude their six-game road trip with a four-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It’s been almost a month since the San Diego Padres won a series. Since taking two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals (June 11-13th), the Padres are 4-14. They have just two wins over their last 10 contests.

Things aren’t looking any easier for San Diego, who now travel to Arizona for a four-game set against the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks. The two franchises have played in just one series thus far, with Arizona taking two of three back at the end of April. Here are your game times and probables for each matchup.

Thursday: 6:40 pm (PT)- Eric Lauer (3-5, 5.08) vs Shelby Miller (0-2, 11.42)

Friday: 6:40 pm- Joey Lucchesi (4-3, 3.26) vs Zack Godley (9-6, 5.07)

Saturday: 7:00 pm- Tyson Ross (5-6, 3.78) vs Robbie Ray (3-1, 4.89)

Sunday: 1:10 pm- Clayton Richard (7-8, 4.46) vs Zack Greinke (9-5, 3.36)

A quick look at the Diamondbacks entering Thursday.

Keep your eyes on the pitching staff of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since returning from the disabled list, Shelby Miller has made two starts, giving up 15 hits (three home runs) and 11 earned runs over 8.2 innings. With the help of an improved looking curveball, Miller does have 11 strikeouts in those two starts.

The San Diego Padres offense can also look to take advantage of a struggling Zack Godley. Godley has given up nine walks over his last two outings, including a four-inning start in which he gave up seven runs on nine hits in his last outing at home (July 1st).

Luckily, San Diego avoids Patrick Corbin this series. Corbin has given up just two runs over his last three outings, striking out 23 and walking three across 19 innings (all no-decisions).

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As for the Arizona offense, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb both enter the series as two of the hottest bats in the lineup. Over the past week, Goldschmidt is hitting .423 with a .516 OBP. He has two home runs and has driven in seven in those seven games. Lamb enters with a .400 OBP over the past week with two doubles and five runs scored.

There are two big things I will be watching for in this series. The first will be, how do San Diego hitters attack the Arizona pitching staff. Hopefully, the Padres come out aggressive, taking advantage of what may be a heavy dose of early fastballs.

The second thing I’m looking at is the performance of Lauer and Lucceshi. Lucchesi appears to have shaken the rust off since returning from the disabled list, while Lauer is one of the hotter starting pitchers on this staff. How will each rookie perform against a hot-hitting divisional rival, on the road?

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Reminder, first pitch for Thursday’s game is at 6:40 pm.