Padres Preview: 05/21 @ Nationals

After rifling off three in a row against Pittsburgh the Padres will hope to continue the run against the All-Star Game-hosting Nationals in Washington.

Making the start in place of an injured Joey Lucchesi is another lefty in Robbie Erlin (1-2, 3.46 ERA). Robbie will make his second start of the season; his last start was one to forget back on April 16th against the Dodgers. Outside that blemish Erlin has been more than serviceable coming out of the bullpen. His stats against the Nationals, however, aren’t as amazing: in 2 appearances Erlin has an inflated 16.39 ERA with 17 runs surrendered on 19 hits in only 9 ¹⁄₃ innings. Robbie will get the chance to prove himself against the Nats and Gio Gonzalez.

Gonzalez (4-2. 2.36 ERA) last saw the Padres in Petco on the 9th in a 2-1 loss, though Gio only allowed 1 run on 5 hits and 3 free passes in 6 innings and didn’t factor into the decision. Overall Gonzalez boasts a 3-2 record with a 3.21 ERA facing San Diego. The Padres may have an opportunity to make it 4 in a row on momentum alone: the team is visiting a slumping Nationals squad coming off losing 3 in a row. Of Padres hitters who have done well against Gonzalez are hot-hitting Eric Hosmer (5-10, 2 HR, 5 BB) Manny Margot (3-5, 1 BB), and Jose Pirela (3-9, 2 BB).

Let’s see if the Padres can make it 4! This afternoon’s game picks up at 4:05 PM.

Game Time: 4:05 PM PST
TV: FSSD, Fox Sports Deportes (Spanish)
Radio: 97.3, XEMO 860 (Español)