Written By: The Persian
The San Diego Padres look to continue their last season push into the postseason when they clash against the San Francisco Giants starting Friday night inside Petco Park in San Diego, California. They toss out the first pitch at 9:40 pm. This is the first of a three-game set between two rivals.
The Padres seem to have gotten it together, and they are poised to make a deep run into the postseason. They have one of the most feared lineups in baseball, and several players can annually vie for the MVP award in the National League.
They need to get over the hump, and they feel this season will be different than in years past. For that to happen, they need their veterans to continue putting up monster numbers and be locked in and focused heading into October.
That includes third baseman Manny Machado, slugged 23 home runs while driving in 86 RBI and batting .273. The Padres have collectively hit 161 home runs this season, and their team batting average is .265, which is very solid compared to the rest of the league.
They will hand the ball over to Michael King, who has a record of 11-8 and an ERA of 3.17. He
The Giants have yet to have the type of success the Padres have had, and both teams play in a very stacked NL West. The difference is that the Padres can hit, and the Giants have had issues all season long with getting runners on base and moving them over.
They have some power in their lineup, but it is not consistent, and they have had issues showing patience at the plate. On offense, they are led by third baseman Matt Chapman, who has slugged 22 home runs this season while driving in 69 runs. He is hitting .247 on the season for the Giants, who hit .240 as a team.
San Francisco has yet to name a starter as of late Thursday night.
They have dropped nine of 12 overall and are 69-72 on the season. The Giants would love to hurt the Padres' playoff chances with a couple of wins and look for them to take some chances on the bases once they get runners on base. They should also try to be more aggressive at the plate since they do not have much to play for except being the role of spoiler.
The Padres are 4-1 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread too. They are also 40-29 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games. The Giants are 1-4 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 31-38 in their road games against the spread.
