In a game between two teams who are at least 23 games off the pace in their respective divisions, the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds play the second of a four game set in Friday, September 7, 2018 at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Padres have the worst record in the National League West at 55-86. Likewise, with their current 59-81 record, the Cincinnati Reds are at the bottom of the National League Central team standings.
Right hander Brett Kennedy will get to open on top of the mound for the Padres. The 24-year old Fordham product has started five games this season and has a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 5.76 and a WHIP of 1.72.
In his last start, Kennedy got his first ever Major League win as the Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-0. The Pomona, New Jersey native pitched six scoreless innings while giving up just four hits and two walks with two strikeouts. The win was also the first for the Padres with Kennedy as their starter.
Kennedy struggled badly in his first four starts in the majors as he gave up a total of 16 earned runs on 31 hits and 6 walks with 14 strikeouts. With his win on 8/31 though, he improved his ERA from 7.58 to 5.76.
Freddy Galvis leads the Padres with 58 RBIs on the season. But heading to Thursday’s games, Galvis has been just 2-15 with two strikeouts and no RBIs in the month of September.
Anthony DeSclafani will start opposite Brett Kennedy. The 28-year old right hander has started a total of 16 games this season and has posted a record of 7-4 with an ERA of 4.37 and a WHIP of 1.24.
DeSclafani figured in a no-decision in his last start as the Reds beat the Saint Louis Cardinals 6-4 last September 2, 2018. In that contest, the former Florida standout gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched. De Sclafani only threw 58% of his pitches for strikes in that game.The Freehold, New Jersey native opened August with three strong starts but has struggled since with an ERA of 5.51 across 16.1 innings pitched in his last 3 starts. However, he still posted a solid 15:4 K:BB ratio over that period.
Of the players in San Diego’s current roster, DeSclafani has faced A.J. Ellis (3), Freddy Galvis (6), Travis Jankowski (6) and Wil Myers(5) on the mound in the past. The four are a combined 1-20 against DeSclafani since 2014. DeSclafani has started twice against the Padres in his career and has a record of 1-0 against them while giving up just one run in a total of 14 innings pitched.
Eugenio Suarez leads the Cincinnati offense with 31 home runs and 100 RBIs this season. Prior to Thursday’s series opener, Suarez hit 4-18 with one home run and a total of 4 RBIs in the month of September.
These are two teams which have struggled all season long and while other teams are still fighting for playoff position, these teams are looking ahead at 2019 and beyond.
San Diego has split its last 10 games while Cincinnati has won just thrice in their last 10 games. The Padres are just 28-41 on the road while the Reds are 32-37 at home. The Reds have won six of their last seven games against teams from the National League West and six of their last seven home games against teams with losing records.
n the other hand, the Padres are have won just twice in their last 13 Game 2 of a series and have won just twice in their last 10 games played on a Friday. San Diego has also lost their last four games against teams with a losing record.
Head to head, the Padres have won two of their last three meetings but the Reds have won five out of the last seven at the Great American Ballpark. Cincinnati is 6-1 in DeSclafani’s last seven starts while the Padres are just 1-4 in Kennedy’s five starts. This should be a good opportunity for the Reds to pick up a win in front of their home fans. We’re picking the Cincinnati Reds to beat the San Diego Padres on 9/7/18.
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