The San Diego Padres (73-65) and the Cincinnati Reds (65-73) meet at Great American Ball Park for the second of a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.
The Padres were swept in St. Petersburg over the weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays, and we figured they’d be fighting mad in Monday’s opener. San Diego took out its day on Cincinnati, winning 5-0 behind RHP Michael King, who twirled six scoreless innings with just four hits allowed, as he squared his season record at 9-9.
San Diego remembered to pack its hitting shoes for Monday’s game, collecting 15 hits in the shutout win, with five players posting multi-hit efforts. 3B Manny Machado led the charge with a 4 for 5 game, posting a double and a run scored. 1B Ty France finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI, too.
On the flip side, Cincinnati compiled just five hits, and only one extra-base hit, a double by 1B Sal Stewart. The Reds also struck out 11 times in 31 at-bats, too, so not one of their best games.
The Padres are just 2-5 in the past seven games, but offense hasn’t been the problem lately. The offense has scored 22 total runs in the past five games, or 4.4 runs per game (RPG). However, the pitching was punished for 21 runs in the three-game sweep in St. Pete, but that was obviously rectified in the opener against the Reds.
The shutout by King and two relievers was even more impressive considering the Cincinnati offense had scored 32 total runs in the previous four games, or 8.0 RPG. The Over is 4-1 in the past five games for the Reds, and 8-4 across the past 12 outings. For the Padres, the Over is 3-1 in the past four games.
San Diego turns to RHP Randy Vasquez (10-6, 4.02 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) to keep up the winning ways. He is 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP across 35 ⅓ IP in the past five starts and two relief appearances. Overall, he has actually been a little better on the road, too, posting a 3.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with just four homers allowed in 58 ⅓ IP, while posting a 4.18 ERA with 11 homers allowed at home.
Cincinnati counters with LHP Nick Lodolo (3-3, 5.24 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) in 79 IP across 16 starts. He has a 4.70 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with six homers allowed in 46 IP across nine home starts at GABP.
Our best picks tonight
The Padres are just 32-37 on the road, and that’s an area they must improve in a hurry if they’re going to make a deep postseason run. However, the Padres are 19-17 vs. LHP. The Reds are 10-12 vs. NL West teams, and it will have their hands full with the red-hot Vasquez.
Let’s take the PADRES ML (-134) and the UNDER 9.5 (-114) for a nice same-game parlay. While Lodolo has been giving, we’re not likely to see a double-digit run total here.
