The Padres have been playing their best baseball of the 2012 MLB campaign since the calendar turned to July, while the Dbacks are still looking to capture their first win this month. Let’s find out which NL West squad will be celebrating a Fourth of July victory at Chase Field.
Padres offense has come aliveSan Diego ranks dead last in the majors in scoring just 288 runs this season, but the club has managed to plate 25 over the course of its season-high four-game win streak. The Padres have evened the season
series at four games apiece, but still have a terrible 83-40 all-time record at this ballpark. Arizona has lost four games in a row, but is still a dangerous team, coming into last night’s 9-5 loss hitting .331 with 30 home runs over its previous 30 home games.
Starting pitching matchup is all Diamondbacks Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (6-7, 4.20 ERA) has failed to live up to his fantastic 2011 numbers, but is starting to show signs of coming around, picking up a 9-3 road win over the Milwaukee Brewers in his last effort. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 5.27 ERA in seven home outings, with opponents hitting .307 against him. In eight career starts versus the Padres, Kennedy has tallied a perfect 6-0 record and 1.95 ERA, including a 3-1 road win on April 12. He surrendered just a single run and five hits over six frames in that contest.
Jason Marquis (3-8, 5.83 ERA) is set to make his 13th start of the year, sixth with the Padres, as he looks to snap a personal three-game losing streak. The right-hander is 2-3 with a 6.84 ERA in five road outings, issuing 14 walks and collecting 14 strikeouts in 25 combined frames. In 14 lifetime appearances (13 starts) versus the Diamondbacks, Marquis has registered a dismal 2-7 record and 4.20 ERA. He has yet to win at this ball park, going 0-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 11 games (10 starts).
Both teams have demonstrated success in this situationSports bettors will want to keep a close eye on the MLB betting odds in this contest, considering the Diamondbacks are 8-4 as a home favorite of -175 to -200 since the start of the 2010 season, while the Padres are 7-5 as a road underdog of +175 to +200 in the same time period. The OVER has combined to go 17-7 in that situation between the two sides.
PredictionDespite the recent form of both teams, the Diamondbacks are clearly the choice, considering their 22-5 record in Kennedy’s last 27 starts against divisional foes. Arizona has also won four consecutive home games with him on the mound in this series and that is
the way we lean with our MLB pick on Wednesday.
Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks -193