Tyson Ross and the Padres look to rebound against reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in this afternoon's rubber game at Petco Park.
The Padres couldn't get much going against Justin Verlander last night, scoring only two runs off him while Padres pitching allowed six to come home for the Tigers. Today our boys will have to face another Cy Young winner as they try to get their first series win of the season on this Military Sunday.
San Diego will look to Tyson Ross, who hasn't had a great start to his 2014 season. In his first two outings, he gave up 11 runs in 10 1/3 innings of work. Only five of those runs were earned, however. The right-hander was plagued by poor defense (some of it his own) as well as poor control (he walked nine in those two starts).
Ross hopes to bounce back today in his third start and help the Padres to a victory over Detroit. But the Tigers have given him trouble in the past. In three career outings against them, Ross is 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA. He's especially struggled against Ian Kinsler, who went 4-for-4 off Ross in their last matchup (2012) and is 5-for-7 against him all-time. Kinsler went hitless in the series opener on Friday, but got two doubles and batted in a run last night.
Ross will have to do better than his counterpart today, although that may be a tall order. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Detroit, and so far he has lived up to his 2013 Cy Young Title despite not receiving decisions in either of his first two starts. His 2014 debut was dominant, as he tossed eight scoreless innings in a ten-inning Tigers win against the Royals. His second start saw him limit the Dodgers to two runs in seven innings at Chavez Ravine, a 3-2 loss for Detroit. Scherzer only got two total runs of support in those two outings, so he's hoping for some more support today.
The right-hander went 21-3 last season and didn't record a loss until well into July. Hopefully our Padres can hand him his first of 2014 this afternoon. Scherzer hasn't faced the San Diego team in more than four years, since he pitched for Arizona. He made four starts against the Friars in 2009, going 1-1 while posting a 2.63 ERA.
Make sure to join us as Ross and Scherzer square off in the series finale at 1:10.