The Friars provided exciting moments during their Independence Day weekend series against the Texas Rangers. As the All-Star break looms closer, they look to take another series from a fellow division rival.
Throughout all the holiday festivities at Petco Park, the Padres (48-41, 2nd in NL West) defeated Bruce Bochy's Rangers on Sunday night 4-1 to secure a series win. After receiving his third career All-Star nod, Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3 with an RBI to fuel San Diego's offense. Left-hander Kyle Hart was impressive after being recalled from Triple-A El Paso to cover innings in the series finale. He tossed 3 2/3 of scoreless baseball, allowing no hits, no walks, while picking up two strikeouts and his third career major league victory.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (43-45, 4th in NL West) dropped a series at home to the Kansas City Royals with a 4-0 shutout loss in the series' closing contest. Snakes starter Anthony DeSclafani gave up all four runs while surrendered home runs to superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez. Royals righty Michael Lorenzen stifled Arizona's bats across seven scoreless innings, racking up seven strikeouts in the process.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (6-9, 5.45 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
D-backs righty Zac Gallen is coming off a fine seven inning performance against the San Francisco Giants on July 1. He struck out 10 batters while only surrendering two runs, in which only one was earned. Walks have plagued him this season, though better as of late. He's walked three or more batters in nine of his 18 starts.
Veteran Yu Darvish will make his long-awaited season debut for the Padres on Monday night. The 38-year-old has been sorely missed by a San Diego rotation that has been missing ace Michael King for nearly two months. Darvish pitched to a 7-3 record with a 3.31 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 2024.
Tuesday: Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (7-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Nick Pivetta (9-2, 3.25 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
Last time out against the Padres, Merrill Kelly took a loss, giving up four earned runs through five labor-filled frames on June 15. He still possesses a respectable 3.43 ERA with a .206 BAA at home this season.
Nick Pivetta bested his former team in the Philadelphia Phillies in his last start. The Padres' workhorse picked up the victory by tossing six innings while only surrendering one run. He's thrown seven quality outings since May 17 looks to get into the double-digit win margin before the break.
Wednesday: Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (8-6, 5.42 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Dylan Cease (3-8, 4.62 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
D-backs starter Brandon Pfaadt has had trouble pitching away from the desert this year. He's 3-3 with a 6.60 ERA and .273 BAA on the road. In his last three away starts, Pfaadt has allowed 12 earned runs and four walks in 13 innings of thrown.
Dylan Cease labored in Philadelphia on July 2. The right-hander gave up four earned runs on eight hits, while only striking out four. Opposing lineups usually do damage against Cease the second time through the order. He's certainly more comfortable pitching at home this season, with a 3-2 record and a 2.76 ERA at Petco Park. He's winless on the road however, going 0-6 with a 6.27 ERA.
Thursday: Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-5, 5.78 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (3-4, 3.79 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
Eduardo Rodriguez looks to bounce back after a bad Independence Day loss to the Royals. The lefty gave up eight earned runs on 12 hits through 4 1/3 innings pitched. He'll face the Friar lineup for the first time this season.
Righty Randy Vásquez gets the ball for the series finale for the Padres. He tossed a more than serviceable six innings against the Rangers, in what would result to be a 3-2 Fourth of July walk-off victory for San Diego. He's still in search of his first individual win since May 14 against the Los Angeles Angels.
Who's hot?
Diamondbacks:
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. owns a .976 OPS with two homers in his last seven contests. SS Geraldo Perdomo is reaching base at a .471 clip in his last 56 at-bats. RHP Shelby Miller has posted a 1.23 ERA with 10 strikeouts in his last 7 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen.
Padres:
1B Luis Arraez now slashing .339/.379/.403 with seven RBIs in his last 15 games played. 2B Jake Cronenworth went 4-for-11 over the weekend against Texas, including a two-run homer. LHP Adrian Morejon continues his impressive campaign with three scoreless appearances over the weekend. He notched a strikeout in each outing.
Early Takeaways
Despite being two games under .500, Arizona remains four and a half games behind the Padres for a Wild Card spot. Torey Lovullo's injury-riddled squad could make things interesting by taking a couple games in this four game series. Dipping further down the standings could cause the D-backs front office to start moving players such as Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor, and perhaps Zac Gallen ahead of this year's trade deadline.
Taking three of four won't come easy for the Friars. You might remember an 'Answer-backs' comeback against San Diego on June 14, in which the Snakes rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for an 8-7 walk-off victory. The Padres probably sure hope that doesn't play out this time around. Holding on to the third NL Wild Card position, the 'Brown and Gold' look to continue gaining momentum, as rumors of reinforcements begin to swirl.
Noteworthy: Padres RF Fernando Tatis Jr. and RHP Jason Adam received National League All-Star selections.