Padres Preview: 04/17 Robbie Erlin looks to lead Padres to series win

The early pleasant surprise for the San Diego Padres so far in 2016 has been Robbie Erlin. After being denied one of the final rotation spots at the end of Spring Training and starting the season in Triple-A El Paso, then being called up to help out the bullpen, THEN getting the opportunity to join the starting rotation, Erlin has taken advantage of every chance he's gotten. Now he's in a place where he can really help out the big league club, and hopefully he can continue to do that this afternoon as the Padres wrap up their series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.

Erlin threw six innings of one-run ball last week against the Phillies in his first start of 2016. The 25-year-old has made three career starts against the Dbacks, and pitched very well all three times, giving him a 2-0 record and 1.35 ERA through a total of 20 innings.

Erlin will oppose fellow left-hander Patrick Corbin, who has had mixed results (2-3 with a 3.38 ERA) in six career appearances (five starts) against San Diego. Corbin is making his third start of the season and still looking for his first win after going 0-1 and allowing five runs through his first 13 innings.

Game time: 1:40 pm PT
Radio: The Mighty 1090, La Poderosa 860 (Sp.)
TV: FSSD, Fox Deportes San Diego (Sp.)