Game: San Diego Padres @ Miami Marlins
Time: 6:40 p.m.
Odds: Padres -114, Marlins +104
Total: 8.5
Two left-handers will battle it out in the middle game of a three-game series between Miami and San Diego tonight in South Florida. Braxton Garrett starts for the Marlins while Blake Snell gets the call for the Padres.
When Garrett (1-2, 4.50 ERA) starts, the Marlins are 6-4 this season. Garrett has faced the Padres twice in his career and is 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA.
The Padres are 2-8 in games that Snell has started in 2023. Snell is 1-6 with a 5.04 ERA so far this season. In four career starts against the Marlins, Snell is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Additionally, in two starts for Miami, he has a 2.45 ERA and a 2-0 record.
This year, Garrett only had one truly terrible start, giving up 14 hits and 11 runs in 4.1 innings against the Braves on May 3. That was his first loss of the year. Beyond that game, Garrett, a 2016 first-round pick by Miami, has a stellar ERA of 2.68. He will try to pick up his first victory since April 22 tonight.
Snell pitched for Tampa Bay and went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 2018. That performance won him the American League Cy Young Award. After that season, he agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract extension. Since, Snell has posted a mere 26-32 record with a 3.98 ERA, and after this year—his third with the Padres—he is expected to become a free agent.
Padres manager Bob Melvin has expressed concern about his lineup and their offensive performance. The Padres were actually 24th in the majors in runs scored going into this week. By going 5-for-6 on steals and drawing eight walks in their 9-4 victory on Tuesday, the Padres may have discovered a winning formula. Six of those batters that walked eventually scored.
Juan Soto, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two walks, one run, and one steal, was one of the seven Padres to record a hit. In addition, Matt Carpenter, who was only hitting .105 in May entering Tuesday, hit two doubles and scored three runs.
The Marlins enter tonight’s game tied with the Mets for second-place in the NL East. Both teams are 28-27 and four games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves. Miami has some injury issues. A.J. Puk, who leads the team in saves, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., a dynamic center fielder, are among the Marlins’ injured key players.
Starting pitchers Trevor Rogers and Johnny Cueto as well as outfielder Avisail Garcia are additional Marlins who are injured. Jesus Sanchez, an outfielder for the Marlins, was activated from the injured list on Tuesday and hit 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter.
Second baseman Luis Arraez (.376) and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz (.301) are Miami’s top two hitters, with the former leading all of baseball in batting average. On Tuesday, De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk.
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