Two teams with playoff aspirations will square off to start the second half as the San Diego Padres travel east to take on the New York Mets. Both teams would be in the playoffs if the season were to end today and this weekend series should be an excellent preview of things to come in the second half in the National League. The pitching matchup for Friday's opener will feature two veteran right-handers as the Padres' Yu Darvish (8-4, 3.41) will battle the Mets' Max Scherzer (6-1, 2.22). First pitch is scheduled for 710pm EST.
The Padres finished the first half of the season at 52-42 despite missing their best player, Fernando Tatis Jr., for the entire half. The team did so with arguably the best starting rotation in baseball with six pitchers being utilized to give the Padres the most starting depth in baseball. San Diego is second in baseball with 50 quality starts and has the 11th best ERA. The Padres also have the sixth best road record in baseball at 27-21 as they travel to Queens to kick off the second half. There is reason for optimism that help is on the way because Tatis Jr. has begun to swing a bat regularly as he continues his rehab process and the Padres are said to also be one of the front-runners to land Washington Nationals' all-star outfielder Juan Soto, who is rumored to be on the trade market after turning down a long term deal with the Nationals.
And that's a wrap! ?? pic.twitter.com/vlw01YM0UB
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 20, 2022
Not surprisingly, the Padres have been a below average offensive team without Tatis Jr.'s bat in the middle of the lineup. The Padres are just 17th in baseball in runs per game, 26th in home runs per game and a woeful 27th in slugging percentage. Whether or not Soto becomes available, the Padres will certainly be on the market for offense as the August 3rd Trade Deadline approaches. On the mound on Friday night for the Padres will be veteran Yu Darvish. Darvish has made a solid transition from a strictly power arm to more of a pitcher over the last couple of seasons. Darvish is second on the team in quality starts with 13, leads the team in innings pitched with 108 and has only allowed 85 hits. Darvish has watched his K% dip from a league-high 31.7% in 2016 down to a more modest 23% this season. In July, however, Darvish has struck out 25 batters in three games including a season-high 10 against the Dodgers on July 2nd. He will have had a full week's rest w hen he takes the mound on Friday night.