Padres Preview: Jhoulys Chacin vs. Jeff Samardzija & the Giants

The Padres return home tonight to open a three-game series against the division rival San Francisco Giants. The Padres hold a six-game lead over the cellar-dwelling Giants, and the team will be happy to kick them further down there with this series. Both teams are coming off sweeps, as the Padres just got swept by the Miami Marlins and the Giants took three losses from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin should have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic for today’s start. He leads all of baseball with a home ERA of 1.86, carrying a 7-2 record at home. The Padres have beaten the Giants in all four of his starts against them, and he’s earned three wins in the process. On top of all of that, he’s 3-for-9 at the plate with a stolen base for the month of August!

Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for the Giants. His season has been one of his worst overall, but he’s smoothed it out in recent starts. He’s surrendered more than three runs only once in his last six starts, and he’s gone at least six innings in each of them. Against the Padres this season he’s 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA. When you watch him on the mound tonight, think about Principal Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The Padres are licking their wounds after a rough series against the Marlins, but the Giants are hurting just the same. A return home should bring some fresh bodies to the ballpark today. Let go Padres!