Padres @ Diamondbacks

Who will WIN this matchup?

San Diego Padres (78-65)

@ Arizona Diamondbacks (67-75)

Starting Pitchers:

Manaea (SD): 7-8; 5.23 ERA

Jameson (ARI) 0-0; 0.00 ERA

Current odds:

San Diego Padres: (-164)

Arizona Diamondbacks: (+142)

• The starting line-up for the Padres is as follows:

• The starting line-up for the Diamondbacks is as follows:

• The San Diego Padres currently possess the National League’s third wild-card spot, but they continue to have trouble creating distance from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Padres, who have dropped three of their past four games, aim to start a sprint to the finish when they face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Phoenix. San Diego (78-65) stands two games ahead of the Brewers (76-67) after both clubs lost their Wednesday games. The Padres fell 6-1 to the Seattle Mariners for a split of the two-game set.

• San Diego is 11-4 against Arizona, which presents an opportunity for the Padres to begin a difference-making burst.

• San Diego was predicted to battle Los Angeles for NL West supremacy but instead trails the Dodgers by 20 1/2 games.

• Not having star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. — first because of a wrist injury, later due to a PED suspension — hurt the Padres’ chances of competing for the division crown.

• But outfielder Juan Soto, acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, hasn’t been the difference-maker the club hoped. Instead, Soto has been a huge disappointment and is mired in a 3-for-44 (.068) funk over his last 14 games. Overall, he is batting just .209 and slugging .330 in 34 games for San Diego. He has just three homers and seven RBIs.

• The Diamondbacks (67-75) recorded a dramatic 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, courtesy of Sergio Alcantara’s walk-off, three-run homer in the 10th inning. The homer was Alcantara’s fifth of the season and gave Arizona its second win in the past eight games.

• Arizona plans to recall prospect Drey Jameson from Triple-A Reno to start Thursday’s game. The 25-year-old right-hander was a first-round pick in 2019 and is rated as the No. 9 prospect in the Diamondbacks’ organization by MLB Pipeline.

• Jameson was just 5-12 with a 6.95 ERA in 21 starts and one relief appearance for Triple-A Reno this year, but he struck out 109 in 114 innings. He went 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA at Double-A Amarillo in four starts at the outset of the season.

• Struggling left-hander Sean Manaea (7-8, 5.23 ERA) will take the mound for the Padres in the opener. Manaea, 30, lost his last two starts and gave up 14 runs and 19 hits in 8 1/3 innings during the span. His next start was skipped and he pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the Dodgers on Saturday.

• However, Manaea has been solid against the Diamondbacks in 2022, going 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts. He has allowed just 14 hits in 25 innings while striking out 23. Manaea is 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA in seven career starts against Arizona. Carson Kelly (2-for-15) and Jordan Luplow (2-for-8) have each homered against him.