Padres at Rangers
Manager Andy Green is playing the percentages to help the San Diego Padres snap out of their funk, swapping his starting pitchers for the finale of their four-game, home-and-home series against the host Texas Rangers on Thursday. Jhoulys Chacin was scheduled to start for San Diego but was pushed back a day in favor of left-hander Clayton Richard.
"If you flip them, you get a 200-point OPS advantage on each club," Green told reporters. "Texas has struggled a bit more against left-handed pitching this season than right-handed pitching, and vice versa in Chicago." The Padres were unable to hold an early two-run lead in Wednesday's 4-3 setback, their sixth loss in seven games. The Rangers' struggling offense erupted in Tuesday's 11-0 romp at San Diego but pushed across three of their four runs Wednesday via a wild pitch, a balk and a throwing error. Martin Perez, who is bogged down in a four-start losing streak, gets the nod for Texas in the series finale.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Clayton Richard (2-4, 4.87 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Martín Pérez (1-5, 4.06)
Richard is coming off a ragged performance in a 10-2 loss versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, working five innings while allowing five runs on seven hits and six walks. He yielded two runs over 5 1/3 frames in his previous turn at San Francisco and was tagged for six in 3 2/3 innings at Arizona on April 25. Richard owns a 7.36 ERA in five career appearances (one start) versus Texas.
Perez turned in a decent performance last time out at Seattle before his bullpen imploded, giving up three runs - two earned - and eight hits over six-plus innings. He did not issue a walk for the first time this season but continued to receive little offensive support from Texas, which has scored eight runs in his last five starts. Erick Aybar is 4-for-12 against Perez.
WALK-OFFS
1. Padres 1B Wil Myers is 25-for-81 with six homers and 17 RBIs on the road this season.
2. Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo is 6-for-11 during his four-game hitting streak.
3. San Diego LF Matt Szczur, who recently was acquired from the Cubs, went 3-for-4 with an RBI in his first start for his new team.