The San Diego Padres (9-11) take one of the least productive lineups in the NL on the road to face the Arizona Diamondbacks (11-8) at Chase Field on Thursday for the first of a four-game series. The Padres are kicking off a seven-game road trip after wrapping up a rough seven-game homestand (2-5).
They won only one out of three in their last series against the Braves, taking the finale 1-0 on Wednesday at Petco Park. Juan Soto was 2 for 4 with a solo home run. The Diamondbacks are playing the first of seven games at home after concluding a six-game road trip (3-3).
They won two of three against the Cardinals in their last series, dropping the finale 14-5 on Wednesday at Busch Stadium. Pavin Smith went 2 for 3 with a home run and two runs.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The NL West rivals have split their games this season 1-1, as the Diamondbacks evened the season series with an 8-6 victory in their most recent meeting on April 4 at Petco Park. Reliever Kevin Ginkel was credited with the win after throwing one scoreless inning, and Drey Jameson threw two innings to earn his first save of the season.
ON THE MOUND
Michael Wacha (2-1, 6.06 ERA) is slated to take the mound for San Diego. The righty allowed seven runs over 4.1 innings in his last start, an 11-2 road defeat against the Brewers on Friday. He took the loss, yielding 11 hits while striking out three and walking one.Righty Ryne Nelson (1-0, 3.71 ERA) gets the start for Arizona.
He has made one prior start against the Padres this season, giving up three runs over five innings in a 5-4 road defeat on April 3. He gave up six hits and walked three, while striking out three in the no-decision.In his last start on Saturday, Nelson took a no-decision on the road against the Marlins. He threw six innings and gave up one run on five hits, striking out four, in the 3-2 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
The San Diego offense is averaging 3.7 runs per game for the season, third lowest in the NL, with a slash line of .228/.311/.394. Xander Bogaerts leads the team in OPS at 1.010. The left fielder is slashing .362/.430/.580 with four home runs, 10 RBIs, and 12 runs over 20 games.
Over the last five games, however, San Diego has averaged only 2.4 runs a game while performing worse across the board (.209/.282/.304).
Against right-handed pitchers like Nelson this season, the Padres have a .717 OPS. Bogaerts also is the team’s best hitter against right-handers with a 1.360 OPS in 39 at-bats.
Arizona is slashing .250/.298/.404 for the season and averaging 4.6 runs per game. Josh Rojas leads the team with ann .858 OPS. The third baseman has seven RBIs and 10 runs scored with a slash line of .347/.389/.469. The D-backs have a .704 OPS against right-handers in 2023. With a .917 OPS over 38 at-bats, Rojas also has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
San Diego is 4-3 on the road in 2023, scoring 4.4 runs per game while allowing 3.7 runs. Arizona has gone 5-2 at Chase Field this season, averaging 6.0 runs per game while surrendering 4.6. San Diego is 7-3 in the last 10 games between the teams at Chase Field with an average scoreline of 5.0-2.6.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Diamondbacks lead the NL West by two games over the Dodgers. The Padres are third in the NL West, three games behind the Diamondbacks.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
SD Padres (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
