Reds play host to Padres in NL Wild Card hunt showdown
It’ll be a rockin’ weeked at GABP!
The San Diego Padres are in Cincinnati to take on the Reds this weekend in a pretty critical series (by late-June standards).
At 44-36, the Friars currently sit as owners of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. The Reds, meanwhile, sit a hair behind them at 42-39 - currently good for 2.5 games back of that final spot.
The direction in which these two teams are headed, however, has been pretty divergent of late.
The Reds enter this series having just taken 2 of 3 off the New York Yankees and are 12-5 overall in their last 17 games played. The Padres, however, went 7-0 to start their season (and once sat 15-4 after 19 games), yet they’ve played sub-.500 ball for the last pair of months. They are fresh off wins in back to back series, however, and have won 4 of 5 overall against the likes of the Washington Nationals and Kansas City Royals.
The Pads sport a middling offense overall (.307 wOBA, tied for 20th in MLB) despite the presence of all-world hitters like Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Manny Machado within it. Meanwhile, their overall team ERA (3.62) and FIP (3.80) both rank among the game’s top 10, with their bullpen ERA (3.30) ranking tied for 3rd best in the game. In other words, they’ve been leaning hard on their arms to get the job done this year, something that may well be difficult in the heat at GABP when balls tend to fly to the moon.
The Padres, however, will be sending right-handed starters to the mound in each of the three games this weekend, so the Reds will at least have a chance to avoid their left-handed kryptonite this series. As a reminder, the Reds boast a team wRC+ of just 73 against LHP so far this season, a mark that’s tied for 25th overall. By wOBA (.328), they’re the 7th best offense against RHP, however.
It’s a big series for these Reds, who look to continue their climb back towards a playoff spot, and I can only hope the excitement that was palpable in GABP during the Yankees series is back in action all weekend long.
Pitching Matchups
Friday, June 27th (7:10 PM ET): LHP Nick Martinez vs. RHP Dylan Cease
Saturday, June 28th (2:10 PM ET): LHP Andrew Abbott vs. RHP Randy Vasquez
Sunday, June 29th (1:40 PM ET): LHP Nick Lodolo vs. RHP Stephen Kolek
How to Watch
All three games of this series will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network. You can watch FDSN in-market through cable packages, though it’s also available to be streamed in-market with no blackout restrictions even without a cable subscription. You can check here for more information on how to do just that.
Per usual, you can view these first two games from outside the Reds TV market by catching the FDSN stream through MLB.tv.