The San Diego Padres (19-17) will be going for the series win when they face the Minnesota Twins (19-17) in the final game of their three-game interleague series on Thursday afternoon.
Yu Darvish, 2-2, 3.19 ERA, will get the start for the Padres. The Twins will counter with Bailey Ober, 2-0, 0.98 ERA.
Minnesota and San Diego split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Wednesday’s game was played**
The Padres played well over the past week and they’ve won three of their last five games. They will try to keep the momentum going with another win over the Twins, which will give them their fourth win in their last six games and the series win.
San Diego is averaging 4.19 runs per game. Their .234 batting average is 23rd in the league. Their .321 on base percentage is 16th, as is their .396 slugging percentage.
Xander Bogaerts leads the Padres with a .273 batting average and six home runs, while Matt Carpenter leads the team with 17 RBI.
San Diego’s pitching has been good, with the team giving up 4.17 runs per game. Opponents have a .237 batting average against the Padres, which is eighth in the league. Their 4.03 ERA is 12th, while their 1.29 WHIP is 14th.
In his last star t, Darvish gave up four hits and two runs in 6.2 innings, leading to a 5-2 win over the Dodgers. They will need a similar effort from him if they want to win this game.