Scuffling Padres To Duel MLB-Best Braves For Three Games In San Diego

The San Diego Padres haven’t played well this month and have lost a lot of ground on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West after losing 11 of its last 17 games.

The Padres failed to secure a series victory against the Texas Rangers on Sunday after right-hander Lucas Giolito allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts over four innings of bulk relief.

All seven runs scored in Texas’ 4-3 win happened in the third and fourth innings; Rangers center fielder Wyatt Langford belted a three-run home run to put Texas on top 3-0 before RBI singles from left fielder Gavin Sheets and shortstop Xander Bogaerts as well as an RBI double from second baseman Sung-Mun Song to tie the game, but Rangers third baseman Josh Jung delivered the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the fourth and Texas’ bullpen held the one-run lead.

Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi produced a quality start, tossing six innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk while punching out nine.

Not only are the Padres nine games back from the Dodgers, but they are a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for the final NL wild card spot at 39-37. Despite having a lot of talent within the lineup, San Diego’s offense has been the worst in baseball, and the lack of quality pitching is starting to catch up with them.

At a time when the Padres could benefit from an easier matchup, the Atlanta Braves come into town. Atlanta has the best record in Major League Baseball at 48-28 despite scuffling a bit recently and could be a problem for San Diego.

The series opener will feature a pitching matchup between a couple of right-handers – Atlanta’s Grant Holmes and San Diego’s Michael King.

Holmes is 4-3 with a 4.33 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 61 strikeouts to 32 walks through 14 starts (68.2 innings). He last worked against the San Francisco Giants and only pitched two innings due to heavy rain suspending the game. Holmes allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while fanning two.

King is 4-6 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 73 strikeouts to 35 walks through 15 starts (85 innings). He has allowed a lot of baserunners over his last several starts and has a 5.29 ERA this month; he last worked against the St. Louis Cardinals and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out just one over 4.1 innings.

San Diego needs King to get back to shoving like he was earlier in the year, or the team could fall off even more.

First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. PDT on ESPN.