Series Preview
Things are not going well in San Diego. The Padres have the worst record in the NL @ 12-18 & their leadoff hitter is CF Melvin Upton Jr. The one bright spot in this darkness of sucking is their bullpen which has posted ERA of 2.68 ranking 5th in the NL. Offensively it has been a struggle. LF Matt Kemp has really struggled out the gates along with young star C Austin Hedges & 2B Jedd Gyorko. RF Will Meyers & SS Scooter Gennett have been the source of most of their offense in 2016. The Braves hope to take leads into the 9th so they don't have to face their former fan favorite Craig Kimbrel who is lurking in the bullpen. For Atlanta things are much nicer as the Braves are tied with the Nationals atop the NL East. Christian Villanueva looked strong in series against MIA so WeagleWeagle has decided to keep him at 3rd for at least the first 2 games with Peterson & Peraza platooning 2nd. Still no diagnosis for Eric Young Jr so he is still on roster but is unavailable. If he does hit the DL the Braves will have to decide whether to bring Santana back up or call up someone like Todd Cunningham or Destin Hood to be that 4th OFer.
Expected Pitching Matchups
Game 1
RHP Andrew Cashner 0-4, 8.76 ERA, 5.22 FIP, -0.2 WAR
vs
RHP Shelby Miller 3-0, 1.91 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 1.0 WAR
Game 2
RHP Odrisamer Despaigne 3-1, 4.19 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 0.3 WAR
vs
RHP Julio Teheran 1-3, 6.34 ERA, 5.40 FIP, -0.2 WAR
Game 3
RHP Corey Mazzoni 1-2, 7.04 ERA, 5.44 FIP, -0.1 WAR
vs
LHP Brett Anderson 2-2, 5.59 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 0.4 WAR
Primary Lineup
CF Melvin Upton Jr
3B Yangervis Solarte
RF Will Meyers
LF Matt Kemp
SS Scooter Gennett
2B Jedd Gyorko
1B Michael Abreu
C Austin Hedges