Who do the Padres need to be hot in Philadelphia?

If the San Diego Padres continue to be ballers on the road, maybe they should petition to play more than 81 games on the road this season. As of today, the Padres hold the third-best record in all of baseball on the road behind both New York teams. The Padres have six more games left on this 9 game road trip before they come back home. It would be nice for the team to add to their current road success.

Hitter to watch: (at Philadelphia)

Wil Myers struggled in his first two games back after returning from injury vs Chicago. That was not the case over the weekend in Atlanta. Myers reached base and scored a run in all three games. Along with two multi-hit games and his first home run of the season.

It’s not sustainable but anytime one of the other guys can hit .417/.429/.667 in a three-game set, that’s a huge win for the Padres lineup. Obviously, no player is going to hit at that clip for an entire season, but of the top three outfielders Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar, and Myers. Only one is hitting over .200 and that’s Myers. No pressure, but Myers stepping up is crucial for the Padres outfield.

Pitcher to watch: (at Philadelphia)

After being officially scratched in what would’ve been his first start of the season-opening weekend in Arizona. Blake Snell is now poised to once again make his 2022 season debut. Before rejoining the club, Snell made three starts with Padres minor league affiliates.

The first start in Fort Wayne went well 4 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, and 4 K. It was the second start that had Padres fans a little nervous. Snell gave up four earned runs and walked two batters over four innings of work. All was not lost, as Snell did strike out eight hitters for Lake Elsinore.

Like a pitcher of Snell’s capabilities, you have forgotten and reset. That’s what he did in his final start in El Paso. Snell went 5 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, and 7 K. It will all come down to pitch count, but I can see this scenario similar to Mike Clevinger as in the Padres will play it safe and not have Snell throw five innings if he runs into some roadblocks.

What to watch: The fighting Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies started the season slow and a lot of that is due to their relief and starting pitching. Both units are in the bottom three of baseball. Despite those struggles, the Phillies have caught some steam during their west coast trip. Winning 5 of 7 games in Seattle and Los Angeles. Absolutely embarrassed the Dodgers by taking the first 3 of 4 games.

Pitching will be the key for San Diego as the Phillies ranked in the top-10 for almost every hitting category. Philadelphia is 5th runs scored and 2nd in batting average. There will be runners on base but the good thing for the Padres is they will hold their own defensively from letting Philly runners take more bases than they deserve.

A matchup that will be between teams that are opposite reflections. Philadelphia wants to outscore you while San Diego wants to outpitch you. Let’s see which unit is stronger.