The San Diego Padres (43-37, 44-46 RL, 35-50-5 O/U) battle the Philadelphia Phillies (48-41, 37-52 RL, 34-46-9 O/U) in the first of a four-game NL series on Friday evening. The Padres will give the nod to Yu Darvish. The Phillies will reply with Cristopher Sanchez. The Phillies won last year's season series 4-3 and eliminated the Padres in the NLCS.
Yu Darvish will take the mound to open the series on Friday. Darvish was shaky in his previous start, conceding three runs including one home run in five innings against the Mets, escaping with a no-decision in a game the Padres lost. The veteran right-hander has squandered at least three runs in three of his last four outings and has recorded a 4.87 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP accompanied by a 5-6 record in 85 innings on the season. Darvish has excelled against the Phillies, sporting a 2.23 ERA and a 2-1 record in 44.1 innings.
San Diego had a disappointing first half but are playing better recently, winning two consecutive series. The Padres swept the Angels followed by two wins in three home meetings against the Mets last weekend. The offense is heating up, scoring at least five runs in five of their last six games. They are 6-4 in their last ten clashes. They are 8.5 games out of the top spot in the division.
He shoots. He scores! #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/m2NKkiwGju
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 9, 2023
Manny Machado is one of the hottest players on the Padres, delivering six bombs along with a remarkable 16 RBIs this month. The veteran shortstop has been inconsistent at times and now has 49 RBIs and a .765 OPS on the season. Machado went 4 for 13 in the regular season against the Phillies last season.
The Padres' offense is hot and is averaging 4.46 runs per game on the year, ranking them 18th. The pitching staff is carrying a 3.78 team ERA, placing them sixth.