09/29 Padres Preview: Game 162 @ San Francisco

The Padres close out their 2013 season today with their rubber game against the Giants. With Tyson Ross on the mound, they'll try to follow up yesterday's 9-3 victory with more strong pitching, offensive, and defensive performances. Ross is coming off an impressive start that saw him keep the Diamondbacks to one run in a career-high-tying eight innings. The right-hander is 3-4 in 12 starts since rejoining the rotation in July. But he is just 0-3 in his last eight due in large part to the fact that he's only gotten one run of support in each of those games.

The Padres look to have another strong offensive performance like they did in yesterday's win. They are 3-1 over the last four games coming into the season finale and they've hit a collective .313 in that span. That includes seven home runs and 11 doubles that have helped them compile 27 runs. Today they'll try to keep that going against Guillermo Moscoso.

The right-hander Moscoso is making just his second start of the season, taking Matt Cain's spot in the rotation. In his first start, he gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Rays. Since then, he's made ten appearances out of the bullpen, allowing a combined seven runs through 18 1/3 innings, including two scoreless against the Padres on September 2nd. Career-wise, he's pitched five innings - all in relief - against San Diego without allowing a run.

As the two NL West rivals end their season, they'll be playing for the third place spot in the division. The win yesterday put the Padres ahead in the race by one game, so another win today would give them sole possession while a loss would give them a tying record with the Giants. Join us this afternoon at 1:05 for the 2013 finale and see how it turns out.