After evening up the series with last night's 6-3 victory, our Padres will try to clinch at least a series split tonight against the division-leading Dodgers.
Ian Kennedy will try for another decent outing at Chavez Ravine. In his last three games at Dodger Stadium, he is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA. He's given up only one run in each of his last two appearances. Most recently he allowed a solo homer, plus three other hits, and struck out nine batters through seven innings at Coors Field. He'll try to continue a trend of solid starting pitching from the Padres rotation, who have posted a collective 1.74 ERA over the last 12 games, a stretch during which the team has gone 7-5 to hold on to the 3rd place spot in the NL West. With two games left until the All-Star Break, our Friars will be looking to close out the first "half" of the season on a strong note.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will look to Paul Maholm to keep hope alive for a series win. With an injury to Josh Beckett, the lefty Maholm will be making his first start since May 14th, and eighth start overall this season. In his first seven, he went 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA, and in 14 relief appearances he's posted a 4.67 ERA. Maholm has also struggled against San Diego in the past, going 1-6 with a 4.27 ERA in eight career starts opposite the Padres.
Game time is set for 7:10 PT tonight.
SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $15,000 Fantasy Baseball league for tonight's MLB games. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Jump in now and see if you can beat my team. Here's the FanDuel link.