Padres vs Marlins Series Preview

The Padres start a 3 game set against the Miami Marlins following a 3-3 road trip. After taking 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays, they dropped 2 of 3 vs the Yankees. East Coast trips are tough on West Coast teams so the Padres will happily take a .500 trip and go home.

The Marlins are 19-35, worst in the National League. Only the Royals and Orioles have been worse than them in the race for the #1 draft pick.

Pitching match ups

Caleb Smith 3-2 3.05 ERA vs. Joey Lucchesi 3-3 4.25 ERA

Jose Urena 3-6 4.11 ERA vs. TBD

Trevor Richards 2-5 3.82 ERA vs. Matt Strahm 2-4 3.21 ERA

Hitters to watch

Eric Hosmer 12/29 2 HR 7 RBI .433 OBP .414 BA last 7 games

Hunter Renfroe 9/25 3 HR 6 RBI .429 OBP .360 BA last 7 games

Neil Walker 7/26 1 HR 5 RBI .417 OBP .333 BA last 7 games

Jorge Alfaro 11/26 2 HR 6 RBI .483 OBP .423 BA last 7 games

Joey Lucchesi vs. Caleb Smith

Lucchesi has been pitching well of late. He’s pitched into the 7th during his last 2 outings, and struck out a career high 11 Blue Jays his last time out. The Marlins are averaging a league worst 3.17 runs per game. Smith has had a productive year, but got hit hard his last time out vs Washington. Prior to that outing, he had gone 7 consecutive outings giving up 2 ER or less.

TBD vs. Jose Urena

Urena has gone 4 consecutive starts giving up 2 ER or less. He’s also pitched at least 6 innings in his last 8 starts. The big issue for him all year has been run support, which is generally the case for Miami starters. Cal Quantrill will presumably get the start for the Padres. His last start was on May 25th during the Padres record setting 7 HR outburst. The 19 runs could be more than Urena has received all year. (Kidding, but heck it might be close)

Matt Strahm vs. Trevor Richards

Strahm has pitched well all year. He was the victim of 2 mistakes his last time out and got a hard luck loss. He struck out 10 over 6 innings against the Yankees. 2 Home Runs did him in. Richards was absolutely dominant against San Francisco a few days ago. He went 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits and 1 ER. He’s rebounded quite well after an awful April. This match up is relatively even, but Strahm has the edge.

The Padres are a much, much better team than the Marlins. To their credit Miami does have a few solid starters, but they should be no match for the Padres. The Friars have the advantage is almost every statistically category, plus you can’t undervalue veteran leadership. Through ups and downs, the Padres are gelling better than they have over the last 20 years. The Marlins are still early in their rebuilding process. Anything less than taking 2 out of 3 games would be a major disappointment.