Odrisamer Despaigne (2-1, 5.13 ERA) and the San Diego Padres (19-17) meet Jordan Zimmermann (2-2, 4.20 ERA) and the Washington Nationals (19-17) in the second of a four-game series at Petco Park. The Padres won the last game 8-3 and San Diego leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 10:10 p.m. ET on Friday, May. 15 and will air on MASN2 and FSN-SD.
In his most recent outing, Despaigne pitched 5.0 innings, giving up eight runs, striking out one and walking one in an 11-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Justin Upton (.282, 25 Rs, 8 HRs, 25 RBIs, 8 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI. In his career against the Padres, Zimmermann is 2-2 with a 1.90 ERA. He meets a strong San Diego offense that’s batting .256. Denard Span (.321, 17 Rs, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, 3 SBs) has been doing well, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one stolen base.
San Diego is a small underdog (+103) and the Over/Under (O/U) is six runs. The Padres are 8-11 as the underdog and have an overall money line of +20. The Padres have one of the most prolific home offenses in the entire NL, averaging 4.7 runs per game. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fifth in all of baseball with 28 steals. Transitioning to the pitching staff, an area where the Padres are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 8.5 K’s per game.
On the other side, the Nationals have a record of 16-12 when they are favored and are -159 overall with the money line. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 8-2 SU and have played well as the favorite with a 7-2 record. They sport the third-ranked offense in the NL, averaging 4.8 runs per game. The Nationals average 3.3 walks per game, making them one of the most disciplined teams in the NL. Shifting to the pitching staff, they allow just 2.7 walks per road game, third-best in the NL.
So far this season, the Padres are 1-0 against the Nationals. The Padres will take on a right-hander (Zimmermann) in this game and have a 12-13 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed Despaigne will take the mound against the Nationals, who have a 13-14 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – SD, O/U – Over
Notes
San Diego is 3-7-1 SU in its last 11 games, when playing Washington.
San Diego is 4-9-1 SU in its last 14 games, when playing at home against Washington.
Washington is 2-3-1 SU in its last 6 games, when playing on the road against San Diego.
When the Nationals play into extra innings, they have a 2-1 record. The Padres are 1-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Nationals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Padres have a 10-11 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Padres are 14-2. The Nationals have a 13-1 record when outhitting opponents.
San Diego and Washington both rank in the top five of the league in runs. San Diego sits at fifth with 169 runs this season and Washington ranks fourth with 170.
Ranking 18th, San Diego is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 99 this season. Washington ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 120.
The Padres are 13-6 when they hit at least one home run. The Nationals perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 14-7 record.
