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It wasn't easy, but the Padres opened up their home series against the Cubs with a 4-3 win last night behind a great pitching performance from James Shields and some timely hitting while capitalizing on errors. Hopefully Tyson Ross can help them go 2-for-2 in the series as he takes the mound for the middle game of the three-game set.
This will by Ross' fourth game (third start) against the Cubs. He most recently faced them during the road series at Wrigley last month, when he went 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, getting tagged with a no-decision. Ross has been mostly solid in the two-spot this season, but is 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA in his first eight starts. The righty has been much better in his five road outings (3.34 ERA) than in his three starts at home (5.04 ERA) in 2015.
Chicago will be sending southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada to the hill in game 2 to make his season debut in place of Travis Wood. Wada spent the beginning of the season on the disabled list with a mild groin strain. He has faced the Padres once before, last July in his second major league start. He lasted only four innings and gave up five runs.
With yesterday's win, the Padres are back at .500 on the season, so hopefully tonight they can get above that mark and never, ever look back. Game time is set for 7:10 pm PT.