The Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres open a two-game interleague series on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Oakland is looking to end a three-game losing streak
The A’s head to this game with a three-game losing streak. They are just 5-5 in their last 10 games and are 3-5 in their last eight. Meanwhile, the Padres have dropped two straight games. San Diego is also 5-5 in its last 10 games played and just 3-4 in its last seven outings.
This is the first meeting between these two teams since September of last year when the Padres won a three-game set at the Oakland Coliseum.
The A’s head to this game after losing a 4-3 contest to Mariners last Sunday. With their three-game skid, Oakland is now 56-45 on the season and they are just 5.5 games behind the division-leading Houston Astros in the AL West and they are also two games up on third place in Seattle.
Oakland currently owns the bottom wild card spot in the American League but things could get complicated. They have lost five out of their nine games since the All-STar break and they have scored only 70 runs in 19 games played this month. The A’s are 22nd in batting average this month at .222 and have the 4th-worst OPS in the majors at .675.
James Kaprielian will take the mound on Tuesday. The 27-year old right-hander has been great in each of his last three starts in July, conceding only three earned runs in 18 innings of work. Kaprielian has started in 12 games this season and has a record of 5-3 with a 2.65 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12 while holding a 73/26 K:BB ratio in 68 innings pitched.
The San Diego Padres have dropped their last two games and finished their four-game set against the Marlins with a 2-2 split. That was the last of an 11-game road trip that had two suspended games. The Padres posted a 5-4 record during that road trip and are currently 58-44 on the season, 5.5 games behind the NL West leaders San Francisco Giants.
San Diego is also 3.5 games behind the Dodgers for the first wild card spot in the National League and is 5.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild card position. The Padres are 5-4 since the All-Star break and their pitching staff has registered a pedestal 4.58 ERA during that stretch.
Chris Paddack will open opposite the A’s in the opener. The 25-year old right-hander is having a tough season with an ERA of 5.17 while posting a record of 6-6 in 18 total starts and one relief appearance. However, he was outstanding in his last start, pitching five scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves.
Oakland is 11-2 in their last 13 games after an off day, 11-4 in their last 15 Tuesday games, 8-3 in their last 11 interleague games, 8-3 in their last 11 games against the National League West, and 4-1 in their last five games when their opponents allow five or more runs in their previous game.
San Diego is 9-0 in their last nine games against an opponent with a winning record, 7-0 in their last seven home games against an opponent with a winning record, 21-6 in their last 27 interleague games against a right-handed starter, and 25-9 in their last 34 home games.
However, the Padres are 3-8 in their last 11 games against the Athletics. San Diego is also just 1-7 in their last eight home games against Oakland.
San Diego has lost three out of its last five games played and they have struggled offensively in their recent games, scoring three or fewer runs in five out of their last six games played overall and scoring just five total runs in their last three home games.
Unless they suddenly heat up here, the Padres should struggle against Kaprielian who has surrendered only eight total runs in five starts for the A’s. On the other hand, Paddack has pitched well in his last two starts but has given up 17 total runs in his last five starts.
Oakland is an offensive team that has hit the ball well against right-handers so Paddack could find himself in trouble against the A’s. San Diego’s bullpen has the lowest ERA in the majors at 3.02 this season but they have registered a mediocre 5.06 ERA since the All-Star break.
I like the plus money on the A’s.
Prediction: Oakland Athletics +131
The total has gone under in seven out of the last eight games played by the Padres. The under is 10-1 in their last 11 games when their opponent allows 5 or more runs in their previous game, 6-1 in their last seven against the National League, 5-1 in their last six road games against an opponent with a winning record, and 4-1 in their last five games as the betting underdog.
The total has gone under in five out of the Padres’ last six games played overall. The under is 5-1 in their last six games as betting favorites, 4-1 in their last five games against a starting pitcher with a WHIP of 1.15, 3-1-1 in their last five interleague home games against an opponent with a winning record, and 5-2 in their last Game 1 of a series.
Head to head, the under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams.
Oakland has scored an average of 3.67 runs per game in its last three games against San Diego. The Padres have surrendered an average of 3.62 runs per game at home this season. Sand Diego also scores 0.36 runs per game fewer at home than overall.
The Athletics’ pitching staff has been very good lately, averaging a 1.78 ERA over their last nine games. Meanwhile, five of the Padres’ last six games have produced a total fewer than 8 total runs.
Having said those, I don’t think these teams can top 8.5 runs in this game.
Prediction Under 8.5
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