The San Diego Padres (10-11) are on the road to face the Arizona Diamondbacks (11-9) at Chase Field on Friday. The Padres took Thursday’s series opener 7-5, their second head-to-head victory in three games this season. Reliever Brent Honeywell was credited with the win after throwing two scoreless innings, and Josh Hader earned his sixth save with a scoreless ninth.
Matt Carpenter was 1 for 1 with a home run and two runs in the win. Trent Grisham added two doubles and four RBIs. Geraldo Perdomo went 2 for 4 with a triple, one run, and one RBI for the Diamondbacks.
ON THE MOUND
Seth Lugo (2-0, 2.70 ERA) is set to take the mound for San Diego. The RHP allowed three runs over 3.2 innings in his last start, a 10-3 road win over the Brewers on Saturday. He yielded eight hits while striking out five and walking one in the no-decision.
Lugo is making his first appearance against the Diamondbacks this season. Over three appearances (zero starts) against the Diamondbacks in 2022, Lugo was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA over 3.1 innings. He had four strikeouts and two walks.
Right-hander Zac Gallen (2-1, 4.58 ERA) will take the mound for Arizona. He has made one prior start against the Padres this season, giving up five runs (4 ER) over six innings in an 8-6 road win on April 4.
He gave up seven hits and walked one, while striking out three in the no-decision.In his last start on Sunday, Gallen got the win on the road against the Marlins. He threw 6.2 scoreless innings and gave up two hits, striking out seven, in the 5-0 triumph.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, San Diego has averaged only 1.8 runs a game, down from their season average of 3.8, while performing worse across the board (.178/.241/.287). Against righties like Gallen this season, the Padres have a .693 OPS.
Xander Bogaerts is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a 1.268 OPS in 48 at-bats. Arizona is averaging 5.8 runs per game in the last five, up from 4.7 for the season, with an improved slash line (.275/.310/.472). The D-backs have a .716 OPS against right-handers in 2023. With a .882 OPS over 47 at-bats, Josh Rojas has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
San Diego is 5-3 away from home in 2023, scoring 4.8 runs per game while allowing 3.9 runs. Arizona has gone 5-3 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 5.9 runs per game while surrendering 4.9. In the last 10 games between the NL West rivals at Chase Field, San Diego is 8-2 with an average scoreline of 5.5-2.7.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Diamondbacks lead the NL West by one games over the Dodgers. The Padres are third in the NL West, one games behind the Diamondbacks.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Arizona Diamondbacks (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
