In an effort to close out the first half on a positive note, the San Diego Padres will throw everything they have at the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
While rookie Chris Paddack will start Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, the Padres are set to use anybody and everybody from the pitching staff over the last two games of the series.
Left-hander Logan Allen already chipped in to help Thursday after starting Monday’s game at home against the San Francisco Giants. Starters Matt Strahm and Cal Quantrill also have relocated beyond the right field fence where the visiting relievers set up camp.
“We all know what the job is,” Strahm said, according to MLB.com. “We know the (All-Star) break’s coming, and these (last) four games are important. These four games are what we’ve got to focus on. We’ll worry about what’s after the break after the break.”
The Padres improved to 1-1 in the series with a 3-2 victory Friday when All-Star closer Kirby Yates recorded his first five-out save of the season and his 28th save of the year. With one more victory in the two games, the Padres would halt a streak of five consecutive series defeats to the Dodgers.
While the pitching help is nice, Paddack (5-4, 3.05 ERA) might not need much of it. In his two starts since returning from a brief trip to the minor leagues in order to keep his innings in check, the right-hander has given up three runs in 11 innings. Against the St Louis Cardinals on Saturday, he allowed just one run on two hits over six innings.
Paddack’s lone start against the Dodgers was one of his few clunkers all year. In 4 2/3 innings on May 14, Paddack gave up six runs, but just three of those were earned.
The Dodgers will give Kenta Maeda (7-4, 3.78 ERA) his final start of the first half on Saturday. Maeda had a 4.21 ERA over five June starts, but he gave up two earned runs or less in four of those outings. His one below-average start came June 11 when the Los Angeles Angels tagged him for five runs over 4 1/3 innings.
It was another 4 1/3-inning start, though, that might have been his most impressive of the month. Against a Rockies team that has crushed opposing pitchers at home all season, Maeda yielded just two runs on three hits at altitude Sunday. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts allowed Maeda to leave the outing on good terms after 88 pitches.
“I was ready to stay in, I was ready to fight through it,” Maeda said through an interpreter, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But I guess the manager had a different plan.”
Maeda not only pitches well at Coors Field, with a 3.12 ERA over 10 games (seven starts), but he also fares well against the Padres, with a 6-3 record and a 4.13 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts). Maeda’s 94 strikeouts against the Padres are his most against any team.
The Dodgers saw their nine-game home winning streak come to an end Friday.