The San Diego Padres wrap up their series in Cincinnati against the Reds on Thursday as both teams look to finish the series with wins and claw their way back into the National League Playoff picture.
San Diego Padres vs. Cincinnati Res (-110, 9.5)
Matt Waldron gets the start on the mound for San Diego, who has pitched better than his 2-5 record and 5.00 ERA would indicate.
Waldron has a 4.01 fielding independent with 1.2 home runs and 3.4 walks per nine innings allowed with nine strikeouts per nine innings and has been a far better pitcher on the road, posting a 3.60 ERA compared to a 6.75 home ERA.
On the other side, Frankie Montas gets the pitching start for Cincinnati, and while his ERA is 4.37, his fielding independent is 5.48. The 6.4 strikeouts and 3.9 walks per nine innings are both career worsts for any season in which he has been a starter, but gets to face a Padres lineup that has had some recent struggles.
Entering Wednesday, the Padres were 13th in the league in runs per game but have scored four runs or fewer in 11 of their past 13 games while the Reds owned the league’s worst batting average at .216 while scoring fewer runs per game at home than on the road.
Both bullpens in this matchup have had ups and downs with the Padres ranking 11th in bullpen ERA entering Wednesday and the Reds 20th. Both also entered Wednesday with bullpen ERAs below 3.00 the past 14 days entering Wednesday.
With the Reds’ offense having difficulties getting hits and the Padres both cold at the plate and somewhat exhausted with their sixth game since Sunday night, both pitchers will be dominant on Thursday.
The Play: Padres vs. Reds Under 9.5
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