1:10 pm
July 25

Padres @ Marlins

Who will WIN this matchup?

San Diego Padres (58-43)

@ Miami Marlins (42-57)

 

Starting Pitchers:

Darvish (SD): 7-4; 3.09 ERA

Curtiss (MIA) 3-1; 2.63 ERA (opener of bullpen game)

 

Current odds:

San Diego Padres: (-190)

Miami Marlins: (+160)

 

Of the San Diego Padres’ past six completed games, five of them have been decided by one run. San Diego is 2-3 in those games. Also during that span, the Padres played another one-run game that was suspended due to rain. The Padres will hope for a bit more cushion on Sunday when they complete a four-game series against the host Miami Marlins. San Diego has won two of three games in this series, although the Marlins prevailed 3-2 on Saturday.

Perhaps the Padres can get a relatively easy win on Sunday due to an apparently lopsided pitching situation. The Padres will open with an established starter, right-hander Yu Darvish (7-4, 3.09 ERA), a five-time All-Star who led the National League in wins last season. Miami was supposed to start All-Star Trevor Rogers – a Rookie of the Year frontrunner with a 7-6 record and a 2.37 ERA. But Rogers was placed on the injured list on Saturday due to back spasms. The Marlins will instead likely go with a bullpen game, although which pitcher will start has not been announced.

Darvish, in five career games against the Marlins, is 2-1 with a 6.08 ERA. In two starts in Miami, he is 1-0 with a 6.30 ERA. The Padres are 14-5 when they start Darvish, who has yet to face Miami this season. This year, Darvish is 5-2 with a 2.79 ERA at home but just 2-2 with a 3.63 ERA on the road. He has also struggled in three starts this month, going 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA.

For Miami, the big news is the return of third baseman Brian Anderson, who went 1-for-4 on Saturday in his first game since May 24. Anderson, who had been out due to an injured left shoulder, also struck out twice.

Anderson joins a lineup that includes first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who leads the National League in RBIs with 71. Aguilar, due to an expiring contract at the end of this year, has been rumored to be on the move as the trade deadline approaches on Friday.

So is Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who on Saturday slugged his 30th homer, tops in the National League. Tatis is the fourth player in Padres history to post a 30-homer, 20-steal season.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
San Diego Padres