Coming off a split against the Rockies, our Padres will take on another NL West rival this evening as the Giants come to town for the final series of the homestand.
Tyson Ross will take the mound in the series opener, trying to build off his first win of the season. On Sunday he kept the Tigers to one run on six hits and a walk while striking out seven batters in seven innings of work. It was an encouraging performance, especially after he yielded 11 total runs (though only five were earned) while walking nine in 10 1/3 innings over his previous two starts.
The right-hander has yet to record a win against San Francisco. In three career starts against the Giants, he's 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA. He made one of those starts last season, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings, striking out seven along the way. He also pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief against them last year, striking out all five batters he faced. Both of those appearances took place on the road, however, and tonight will be his first time facing them at Petco Park.
Pitching opposite Ross will be Matt Cain, who is coming off a frustrating start against Colorado last Saturday. He pitched seven solid innings of one-run ball, collecting eight strikeouts. But the Giants failed to give him even one run of support so he was tagged with the loss, his second of the year.
Cain is no stranger to pitching against the Friars, having done so 31 times in his career prior to tonight's matchup. He has a 7-11 record and 3.15 ERA all-time, but has pitched much better against them in recent outings. In five of his last seven starts against San Diego, he's gone seven innings or more. He's also kept the Padres to two or fewer runs in six of those starts, posting a 1.86 ERA with a 2-1 record over that stretch.
The Padres and Giants have both had trouble providing their pitchers with run support on several occasions this season. See who comes out on top tonight when they face off at 7:10 PDT.