Padres Series Preview: Brewers & Padres Set to Battle at Petco Park
The Milwaukee Brewers head west to take on the San Diego Padres in a three-game weekday series. The Brewers have been playing really good ball of recent going 7-3 in their last 10 games including a sweep at home of their division rival Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Brewers have a few familiar faces in the organization like Will Middlebrooks, Rymer Liriano and Pat Murphy. All though Middlebrooks and Liriano are currently disabled.
An interesting side not will be Jonathan Lucroy and Derek Norris who were both rumored to be dealt before game time on Monday evening. Lucroy was shipped to off to the Texas Rangers, but Derek Norris will remain as the Padres obviously did not get an offer to their liking for the veteran catcher. The Padres will now let Norris build up his trade value and look to move him during the offseason.
Pitching Matchups
Monday 7:10 PM- Jimmy Nelson (6-9) 3.42 ERA vs Jarred Cosart (0-1) 5.95 ERA
Tuesday 7:10 PM- Zach Davies (8-4) 3.59 ERA vs Luis Perdomo (5-4) 6.89 ERA
Wednesday 12:40 PM- Junior Guerra (7-2) 2.70 ERA vs Edwin Jackson (1-2) 5.46 ERA
The entire series favors the Brewers in terms of starting pitchers. The Padres staff is really in shambles at this point. Zack Cozart will take on Jimmy Nelson in game one. The Padres hope that Daren Balsley can work his magic with Cozart and turn him into a viable starting pitcher. Cozart has the ability but lacks consistency to be effective in the league. Jimmy Nelson is a tough right handed pitcher and with the Padres lineup being pieced together presently, he should have no problem. The Friars will need to scrap together some runs off of Nelson and hope that Cozart can hold down the suddenly hot Brewers.
Game two brings the Padres best shot to take a game in this series. Luis Perdomo has been rounding into form and has made so much improvement on the year. He is really learning on the job, but at the same time you see a ton of growth with this young man. The Padres are certainly happy they selected this young man from the Cardinals in the Rule-5 draft. Zach Davies is on the mound for the Brew Crew and he has pitched really well this season. Another tough matchup for the Padres offense that will be lacking the names they once possessed.
Game three brings us yet another Brewers advantage and that will be a common theme this year from this point on with the starting staff. The Padres staff is really hurting. Jackson was basically claimed off the street and will now be relied upon to finish out the 2016 season. Junior Guerra is probably the Brewers best pitcher. He is another tough competitor on the mound and the Padres will surely need to bring their ‘A” game to have a chance.
Players to Watch
The Brewers slugger is in the midst of a pretty decent season. He is currently day-to-day with a side injury and has not played since July 27th. Braun is hitting .321 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 85 games this season. If he is able to play this series, he is one to keep an eye on. Like the Padres with Wil Myers, Braun is the lone hitter in the lineup you do not want to beat you. The Padres will be careful while pitching to Braun and instead elect to throw to his teammates.
Since the All-Star break, Myers has been pretty average. Being at home should help this slugger awaken from his slugger. Look for Myers to get back on track this series, and if he fails to do so, the Padres might want to consider giving him another day off or two. He has already eclipsed all his previous offensive numbers and also has played more than any other previous season. It might be time to let the slugger get a little bit of an extended break from action.
Quickly Perdomo has become the most exciting pitcher to watch on the staff minus maybe Tyson Ross. Perdomo was almost sent packing to the Cardinals, but the team wisely held on to him and he has really re-paid the franchise for their confidence in him. He has nasty stuff and little by little he is really learning to contain himself on the mound. The movement he gets on his pitches is phenomenal and the Padres will likely handle him the rest of the year with caution. Perdomo is reaching 90 innings on the year and his previous career high was 126. He will need to be monitored as he is the future.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
