The Padres opened up the series and homestand yesterday with a solid win against Barry Zito and the Giants. They'll try to keep it rolling tonight behind rookie Robbie Erlin, who will make his sixth major league start and first career appearance against San Francisco. Erlin will be looking to build on his best outing of the season, a one-run six-inning performance resulting in the Padres' only win in Arizona last week. It was by far his best road outing, as the southpaw has been much better pitching at home, though it is a small sample size. He is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his two previous starts at Petco Park.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, however, has been just as impressive in the San Diego ballpark. In his last five starts at Petco Park, he is 3-1 with a 3.73 ERA. His last visit to SD saw him limit the Padres to just two runs in seven innings and earn a 4-2 victory. He hasn't had the same luck lately, though. He's gone 0-3 with a 3.99 ERA over his last five starts and his offense hasn't been able to give him much run support.
Catch the action at 7:10 tonight as the Padres try to clinch a series win get back sole possession of the fourth place spot in the NL West.