Riding a season-long six-game losing streak, our Padres will turn to Andrew Cashner to put together another strong performance in the middle game of the series against the Dodgers. Cashner had some bad luck his last time out when he yielded four runs (though only two were earned) in seven innings against the Diamondbacks. Prior to that, he combined for 11 innings of three-run ball in his first two starts back from the disabled list. But no matter how well Cashner has pitched lately, he can't seem to catch a break - or receive any run support. The right-hander has gone 11 starts, spanning almost five months, without a winning decision. In that span he's received a total of 12 runs of support - or just over one run per start. Not only will he be seeking his first win since April tonight, but he's also hoping to notch his first win ever against Los Angeles. In five career starts (totaling 46 innings) against the Dodgers, Cashner is 0-1 despite a 1.06 ERA.
And there isn't much to suggest that he'll get any better treatment tonight. Through their six-game skid, the Padres offense has combined for only 12 runs while hitting just .175 with a .472 OPS. They've collected 45 hits while striking out 48 times in that stretch as well. They team has fallen to 15 1/2 games out of first place in the division and nine games out of a wild card spot. They'll have to hope Roberto Hernandez has a repeat of his most recent performance.
Hernandez (formerly Fausto Carmona) is coming off one of his worst starts. He gave up a season-high four homers, and five runs overall, in 4 1/3 innings against the Nationals. This will be his second start of the season against San Diego. On August 20th he was on the losing end of a game against our Friars after giving up four runs (three earned) in five innings of work. And he's particularly had trouble pitching at Dodger Stadium, posting an 8.28 ERA in three career starts there (two this season as a Dodger).
Game time is set for 7:10 PT.
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