Reds @ Padres

Who will WIN this matchup?

Cincinnati Reds (35-31)

@ San Diego Padres (38-32)

Starting Pitchers:

Miley (CIN): 6-4; 2.92 ERA

Musgrove (SD) 4-6; 2.50 ERA

Current odds:

Cincinnati Reds: (+155)

San Diego Padres: (-170)

• The San Diego Padres have been looking forward to Thursday for a long time. The COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in California, and Petco Park in San Diego is open to 100 percent capacity. Thursday’s opener to a 10-game homestand has been billed as the 2021 Re-Opening Day. There will be bunting, a flyover and a packed house. On the field will be two teams headed in opposite directions. The Padres, who owned the best record in the majors on May 29, are in a tailspin. And visiting Cincinnati is “red” hot.

• The Reds arrive in San Diego with a 35-31 record. They have won six straight, are 11-2 over the last 13 games and 13-3 over the last 16, and they’re coming off a three-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee.

• The Padres return home off a 1-5 road trip that ended with three straight losses at Coors Field in Colorado. The Padres are 4-13 since their 16-3 run ended on May 30. They have gone from the best record in the National League to the sixth best. And if they lose Thursday — which would give the Padres a trio of four-game losing streaks in just over two weeks — they will have the seventh-best record.

• Oh, there is one other footnote to Thursday’s Reds-Padres series opener. The rival pitchers — Cincinnati left-hander Wade Miley (6-4, 2.92 ERA) and Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-6, 2.50 ERA) — have both thrown no-hitters this season. Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in Padres’ history on April 9 at Texas. Only a hit batter denied him a perfect game. Musgrove struck out 10 Rangers. Miley got his no-hitter on May 7 against state-rival Cleveland. He issued one walk and struck out eight. Plus, both have pitched well recently and have knowledge of tonight’s opponent as a division rival in the past.

• Miley, 34, is 2-1 over his past four starts with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.119 WHIP. This will be his 14th career start against the Padres and 10th at Petco Park. He is 1-6 against the Padres with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.506 WHIP. Miley is 1-4 at Petco Park with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.454 WHIP.

• Although he has given up three runs in each of his last two starts and taken the loss in both, Musgrove has a 1.91 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP over his six most recent appearances. He is 3-2 lifetime against the Reds in six appearances (five starts) with a 4.11 ERA and a 0.978 WHIP.