5 things about Braves-Padres matchup in San Diego
The Braves have dominated the Padres in Atlanta for years, but in San Diego it’s been a different story. Entirely different.
The Braves have lost 14 of their past 16 games at Petco Park, posting a 5.39 ERA in those games and hitting only .239 while being out-homered 19-6 and outscored 83-40.
They won the first game of a June 2017 series at Petco, with Sean Newcomb getting the decision, then dropped the past two, with Bartolo Colon and Jaime Garcia taking the L’s.
It’d be hard to find a matchup with more home-road disparity than this one, with the Braves having won seven consecutive home games vs. the Padres and 12 of the past 14 in Atlanta.
Here are five more things to know about Monday’s series opener:
1. The Padres enter the series on a bit of a roll, having won 13 of 21 games, including eight of 11 home games. They're coming off consecutive home-series wins against the lowly Marlins and Reds after losing road series against the Nationals and Dodgers. The Padres hit a modest .239 with 17 homers and 89 runs in that 21-game span, while their pitchers allowed three or fewer earned runs 12 times in 21 games including two or fewer earned runs eight times.
2. The Braves are 19-12 on the road, but were 2-4 on their last trip May 21-27, with series losses at Philadelphia and Boston. They rebounded to take five of eight games in a just-completed homestand, reclaiming first place in the NL East with a drama-filled 3-1 series win against the Nationals in which Braves pitchers allowed only 19 hits and seven earned runs in 41 innings and totaled 44 strikeouts with eight walks. The Nationals, who came in riding a 10-game road winning streak, hit .137 in four games in Atlanta.
3. The Braves face another good left-hander Monday in San Diego's Clayton Richard. He's only 3-6 with a 4.74 ERA, but in his past five starts he has a 3.22 ERA, .208 opponents' average and .581 opponents' OPS with 29 strikeouts and five walks in 36-1/3 innings. Richard has a 7.80 ERA against NL West opponents, but in six starts against teams outside the division he has a 2.66 ERA and six quality starts. Among current Braves, Freddie Freeman is 4-for-9 with a double against him, and Nick Markakis is 3-for-8 with a double.
4. Julio Teheran, who starts Monday for the Braves, allowed 10 hits, nine earned runs and four homers in eight total innings over his first two games this season, but in 10 starts since he has a 3.20 ERA, .200 opponents' average and seven homers allowed in 59 innings, albeit with an unimpressive strikeouts/walks ratio in that span -- 49 strikeouts, 24 walks. In his past four starts, Teheran is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA, five homers and as many walks (12) as strikeouts (12) in 24 innings. His best start in that span was Wednesday against the Mets, a 4-1 win in which he allowed five hits and two runs in seven innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.
5. In his first start at Petco Park, Teheran allowed five runs and two homers in six innings as a rookie in 2013. But he's pitched quite well in two starts in San Diego since then, allowing four hits and one run in six innings of a 3-2 loss in August 2015 and pitching eight innings of five-hit ball with two runs allowed (both on homers) in a 4-2 win in June 2016. Among current Padres, former Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis is 11-for-33 with a .389 OBP against Teheran.
