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Game Thread: 07/27 Padres @ Marlins

By jodes0405
July 21, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Kip Wells (60) checks first during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE
July 21, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Kip Wells (60) checks first during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

After taking 1 of 3 from the Giants and then taking a day to rest, our Padres will continue their road trip this afternoon with the opening of a three-game series at Miami and the team's first ever trip to the new Marlins Park.

Kip Wells will make the start and try to earn his second win of the season. He'll need to pitch a lot better than his last start, against the Rockies, when he gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings and increased his ERA to 4.00. But he has pitched well against the Marlins over his career, boasting a 5-3 record in nine starts. Furthermore, San Diego may have been swept by this team at Petco Park earlier this season, but we are riding an eight-game winning streak in Miami that we hope to continue this series.

And there's a good chance of that, as our lineup will be facing off against a struggling Carlos Zambrano. The right-hander has gone just 1-5 in his last eight starts. His ERA over that span is a 7.68 and in three of those starts he lasted 3 1/3 innings or less. His last outing was one of his worst. He gave up five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings, walking six and hitting two batsmen. The Marlins offense hasn't been all that great either lately. In their last eight games, they've scored only 13 runs and have hit .132, even worse than our Padres, with runners in scoring position. Zambrano's biggest hope is that he can revert to the pitcher that has dominated San Diego over his career. He has a 7-2 lifetime record against us, limiting batters to just a .199 batting average.

Our Padres have gone 8-5 since the All Star Break, scoring at least six and as many as nine runs in seven of those games. Hopefully that offense can show up tonight and set a good pace for the rest of the series. Cameron Maybin rejoins the lineup today after missing nine starts with a sore right wrist.

Make sure to check out the Padres-Marlins series preview by jecazador, as well as Axion's Q&A with SBNation's Marlins blog, Fish Stripes.

GO FRIARS!! KIP THE FAITH!!

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