San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
- Game 1: 6:40 p.m. Monday (Padres.TV)
- Game 2: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV)
- Game 3: 6:40 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)
- Game 4: 6:40 p.m. Thursday (Padres.TV)
In the standings
San Diego Padres (58-54, 3rd in NL West)
The Padres have won eight of nine to pull to within a game of a wild-card spot, behind both the Diamondbacks and Phillies as the current second and third wild-card spots. That’s lifted the Padres’ playoff odds at fangraphs.com from as low as 7% after the first two series of the second half to 31.1% as the trade deadline arrives on Monday.
Arizona Diamondbacks (59-53, 2nd in NL West)
The Diamondbacks’ postseason odds are at 46.2% at fangraphs.com. They are tied with the Phillies in the NL wild-card race, four games behind the No. 1 Cubs, and 10 games behind the Dodgers. The D-backs and Padres have split their first six games this season—two in Mexico City and four at Petco Park.
Trending
San Diego: The Padres rank 16th in run differential (minus-12), 24th in OPS (.696), 27th in rotation ERA (4.66) and sixth in bullpen ERA (3.65). OF Jackson Merrill has six homers and a 1.203 OPS over his last 14 games. Three other Padres also have an OPS over .900 over the last two weeks—INF Luis Rengifo (1.056 OPS, 2 HRs), 1B Ty France (1.042 OPS, 4 HRs) and OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.903 OPS, 2 HRs)—while SS Xander Bogaerts has a .594 OPS over the same stretch.
Arizona: The D-backs rank 14th in run differential (plus-2), 22nd in OPS (.705), 15th in rotation ERA (4.29) and 18th in bullpen ERA (4.16). Both 3B Nolan Arenado and SS Geraldo Perdomo have two homers over the last two weeks, with Arenado’s .842 OPS over that stretch leading the team’s qualifiers. Perdomo (.824), OF Corbin Carroll (.805) and OF Max Kepler (.801) all have an OPS over .800 over the last two weeks, while 2B Ketel Marte has a .603 OPS over the same stretch.
Pitching matchups
Monday
Padres RHP Michael King (6-7, 3.38 ERA) | He went at least five innings in five starts in July (2.79 ERA) and turned in quality starts in three of those starts. King is 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in five career starts against the Diamondbacks, including two this year (12 IP, 3 ER, 3 BBs, 12 Ks).
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (5-1, 4.00 ERA) | He has a 1.85 ERA in six starts—all wins for the Diamondbacks—since returning from a minor league assignment aimed at stretching out as a starter. He has struck out 18 against four walks over those 34 innings. Pfaadt has a 4.25 ERA in 59 ⅓ career innings against the Padres, including two appearances (8 IP, 4 ER) this year.
Tuesday
Padres TBA | New LHP Robbie Ray (10-6, 3.08 ERA) would be on regular rest. RHP Randy Vásquez (6-6, 4.45 ERA) pitched in bulk relief in this spot in the rotation on Thursday.
D-backs LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3, 2.48 ERA) | He’s allowed two earned runs or less in all but five of his 22 starts. Rodriguez has a 3.74 ERA in four career starts against the Padres, but has not faced them since allowing nine runs in 10 innings across two losses last year.
Wednesday
Padres TBA | RHP Germán Márquez (4-2, 4.67 ERA) pitched in bulk relief in this spot, throwing five scoreless innings for his first career save on Friday.
D-backs LHP Mitch Bratt (0-1, 5.23 ERA) | The 23-year-old rookie has walked (15) more than he’s struck out (12) through his first five starts (20 ⅔ IP). He has yet to throw more than five innings in a game in the majors. Bratt had a 2.41 ERA in 52⅓ innings this year at Triple-A Reno
Thursday
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.18 ERA) | He’s got a 9.23 ERA in six starts since the beginning of July. He’s struck out 22 against 18 walks over those 26⅓ innings. Buehler has a 2.59 ERA in 87 innings in his career against the Diamondbacks, but he allowed seven runs in five innings in a loss this year.
D-backs LHP Kohl Drake (0-0, 4.85 ERA) | The 24-year-old rookie is making the fourth start of his career. He has struck out 12 against five walks over 13 innings and has allowed three home runs so far. Drake had a 6.92 ERA in 66 ⅓ innings this year at Triple-A Reno.
Qualifying leaders
- OPS: Padres—OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.753), 3B Manny Machado (.722), 1B Gavin Sheets (.711); D-backs—OF Corbin Carroll (.822), C Gabriel Moreno (.818), 2B Ketel Marte (.751).
- HRs: Padres—Machado (23), 1B Ty France (16), OF Jackson Merrill (16); D-backs—Marte (19), Carroll (16), 3B Nolan Arenado (15).
- RBIs: Padres—Machado (65), Merrill (52), Tatis (49), France (49); D-backs—Marte (62), Carroll (52), Arenado (51), 1B Ildemaro Vargas (51).
- Steals: Padres—Tatis (26), Merrill (22), SS Xander Bogaerts (15); D-backs—SS Geraldo Perdomo (17), Carroll (15), DH Jose Fernandez (7).
- Saves: Padres—RHP Mason Miller (28-for-29, 0.76 ERA); D-backs—RHP Paul Sewald (24-for-27, 6.45 ERA).
- Holds: Padres—LHP Adrián Morejón (17, 3.00 ERA), RHP Jason Adam (17, 2.51 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (16, 3.91 ERA); D-backs—LHP Brandyn Garcia (13, 2.10 ERA), RHP Juan Morillo (13, 2.62 ERA), RHP Taylor Clarke (12, 2.12 ERA).
Training room
San Diego: RHPs Joe Musgrove (elbow) and Nick Pivetta (flexor) are expected to start rehab assignments on Tuesday with low Single-A Lake Elsinore. RHP David Morgan (knee) threw Sunday for Triple-A El Paso. RHP Lucas Giolito (elbow) and OF Samad Taylor (oblique) are rehabbing in Arizona. RHP Jason Adam (shoulder) is not back to throwing yet but eyeing a late-August return. INF Miguel Andujar (wrist) should return from the 10-day injured list at some point this season.
Arizona: RHPs Justin Martinez (Tommy John) and Michael Soroka (glute) and LHP Blake Walston (Tommy John) are expected to be on rehab assignments this week. RHP Corbin Burnes (Tommy John / Teres major strain) is nearing mound work as he looks to return in September. The pitching staff is also without RHPs Zac Gallen (elbow), Drey Jameson (hip), Cristian Mena (Teres major) and Ryne Nelson (flexor/UCL) and LHPs A.J. Puk (shoulder) and Andrew Saalfrank (shoulder). The lineup is missing OF Jordan Lawlar (hamstring), OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (adductor) and OF Tommy Troy (AC joint).