Padres Preview 4/21: Trevor Cahill vs. Adam Conley and the Miami Marlins

The Padres open a fresh home series against the Miami Marlins tonight. The Marlins are in second place in the AL East, only two games behind the Nationals. It’s early in the season, but this is a Marlins team that may be a fringe contender this season. With a powerful outfield and a talented pitching staff, the Padres may have their hands full with these fish.

Trevor Cahill has started to form a familiar pattern this season. He’s been a buzzsaw in early innings, holding hitters to a .161 batting average the first two times through the lineup. He’s struggled in each of his two starts the third time through the lineup to the tune of an .825 OPS. With Kevin Quackenbush, Jose Torres, and Miguel Diaz all on at least four days of rest, Andy Green might have a quick hook if Cahill starts to struggle again tonight. The heart of Miami’s order has as much power as any team in the league with Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna all bringing impressive thump to the plate.

Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images

The Marlins are sending lefty Adam Conley to the rubber tonight. The three-year veteran doesn’t bring hard heat with a low-90’s fastball, but he relies heavily on a sweeping slider and diving changeup. Both his K% and BB% are down from last year, but the Padres hitters may be wise to show patience at the plate with his breaking stuff down in the zone.

Last night’s win over Arizona to secure a series win was a great thing to see. Maybe we can look forward to some more pop from Wil Myers and Austin Hedges (swoon!). Who knows, perhaps Erick Aybar can maintain his unsung hero role and Allen Cordoba can keep a good thing going before he realizes that 21-year-old rookie-ball hitters aren’t supposed to do what he’s been doing. Whatever they’re doing, the Padres have shown some exciting life the last couple nights, so let the good times roll as the Fish come to town!

Game Time: 7:10 start PDT.
Radio: 94.9FM, La Poderosa 860AM (Sp.)
TV: FSSD, Fox Deportes SD
Online: MLB.tv