Padres baseball is back tonight after what felt like the longest All Star Break ever. The boys begin a home series against the Mets tonight to kick off the second "half " of the 2014 season, and Ian Kennedy gets the start in game one.
Kennedy has gone three straight starts without allowing more than two runs. He's also collected 22 strikeouts through those three games while pitching a combined 21 innings. He hasn't had the same luck against the Mets, however, losing each of his last two appearances against them while giving up eight runs through ten innings of work
Opposing Kennedy will be Bartolo Colon, who is 2-2 in four career starts against the Friars. The key for San Diego will be getting to Colon early. The right-hander has the second most first-inning runs allowed (18) in the majors. Eleven of those came over his last four starts. But he'll be facing a Padres team that has the lowest batting average in the league while being shut out 14 times this season.
Hopefully our offense can get the second half started on a high note with a win tonight. Game time is set for 7:10 PT.