Pitching Matchups
Friday: Wade Miley (2-0, 2.37) vs. Jason Marquis (2-2, 4.20)
Saturday: Patrick Corbin (3-0, 1.91) vs. Clayton Richard (0-3, 7.94)
Sunday: Ian Kennedy (1-2, 4.78) vs. Edison Volquez (2-3, 6.39)
After a very disappointing finish to their seven-game homestand, the Diamondbacks head back on the road to kick off a six-game road trip in Southern California beginning on Friday night against the San Diego Padres.
This will be the first time these two teams face one another in 2013. The Padres won 11-of-18 games last season against the D-Backs, which included a three-game sweep at Chase Field over the July 4th weekend.
For the last several years, the Padres pitching staff has been the main reason for them winning games. It has been a struggle so far for the group in 2013.
San Diego’s ERA stands at 4.57, which is good for 27th in all of baseball. The Padres bullpen is once again a strength, but the rotation has been a serious concern.
Minus Tyson Ross, who is currently on the 15-day disabled list, every Padres starter has an ERA that’s at least over four. The guy with the best ERA is veteran Jason Marquis at 4.20. He will be the starter on Friday for the Pads.
Given how bad the D-Backs offense has been as of late, this would be a good time for them to get hot given how poor the Padres starters have been so far this season.
Ever since they have moved to Petco Park, scoring runs have been a struggle for the Padres. Given the dimensions of the stadium, it is hard to score runs via of the long ball.
So far in 2013, San Diego’s offense is a little bit better than usual. They are tied for 22nd in runs (103) and tied for 17th in batting average (.245) in all of baseball.
Chase Headley, who began the season on the DL, got off to a slow start, but has performed much better of late. The slugger has eight hits in his last 17 at-bats, which includes a pair of home runs and three RBI’s.
Nick Hundley, a career .244 hitter, is off to a fast start in the first month of the season. Hundley’s .329 batting average is best on the team and his 11 RBI’s are good for second behind Yonder Alonso, who has 16.
Chris Denorfia is also off to a good start for the Pads as he is hitting .305 so far. Everth Cabrera has just a .260 average, but already has seven stolen bases on the year. It will be important for D-Backs pitchers to keep him off of the basepaths as he sparks San Diego’s offense.
The Padres offense will have their work cut out for them though as they have the D-Backs top two pitchers (Miley, Corbin) going up against them in back-to-back games.
