Struggling Padres Must Battle NL Cy Young Contender Chase Burns Against Reds

The San Diego Padres seem to have gotten out of its mini slump, winning two of its last three games including the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, 6-2 Monday.

The Padres got an outstanding performance from scuffling catcher Freddy Fermin, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. He opened the scoring with a 376-foot blast to left center in the third inning.

The Reds scored twice to take a 2-1 lead by the sixth inning but the Padres rallied with a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth innings to go on top 6-2. In their last set of at-bats, the Padres sacrifice bunted three consecutive times and Cincinnati failed to record a single out.

Padres right-hander Walker Buehler was hit hard over 4.2 innings of work but only allowed one run on eight hits and two walks while striking out four. San Diego’s bullpen was lights-out, allowing one hit and one walk with seven punchouts across 4.1 innings.

Reds lefty starter Andrew Abbott earned a quality start but took the loss after pitching six innings of three-run ball on four hits and two walks while fanning six.

It was a tough night for the top of the lineup, as the first four hitters in the lineup combined to go 1-for-12, but the bottom of the order picked them up, collecting eight hits in 17 at-bats.

The Padres offense may struggle to produce runs in Game 2, as the Reds are sending National League Cy Young candidate Chase Burns to the bump against Padres veteran righty Lucas Giolito.

Burns has been outstanding for Cincinnati after struggling last year. The 23-year-old is 7-1 with a 2.05 ERA (fourth), 0.95 WHIP (seventh) and 81 strikeouts (tied-14th) through 12 starts (70.1 innings). He last worked against the Kansas City Royals and pitched six innings of two-run ball on four hits and one walk while striking out nine in a no-decision.

Giolito was solid in his first couple of outings but has had trouble commanding the strike zone. He is 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 11 strikeouts through four starts (16.2 innings).

Giolito has walked more batters (13) than he has struck out, which is a cause for concern, although he struck out five and walked just one in his last outing. The 31-year-old went four innings against the Philadelphia Phillies and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.