Reds at Padres
The San Diego Padres look to extend their winning streak to a season-best four games when they host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for the opener of their three-game set. San Diego won the final three contests of a four-game series with Miami, which was capped by Thursday's 8-3 victory.
The Padres have scored 20 runs during their three-game winning streak and have emerged victorious in six of their last eight home contests. Christian Villanueva slugged a two-run homer on Thursday to raise his team-leading totals to 15 blasts and 35 RBIs, while Eric Hosmer went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs. Cincinnati is 2-4 on its nine-game road trip after stops in Colorado and Arizona, allowing 39 runs during the trek. Adam Duvall is batting just .181, but he recorded two four-RBI performances in the series against the Diamondbacks, including a grand slam in Wednesday's 7-4 triumph.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Tyler Mahle (3-6, 4.76 ERA) vs. Padres RH Walker Lockett (NR)
Mahle is 0-2 over his last three starts and has posted a porous 7.53 ERA during the stretch. The 23-year-old came away with a no-decision against Colorado in his last turn, when he gave up four runs and six hits over five innings. Mahle, who never has faced the Padres, is 3-4 with a 3.86 ERA in nine career road starts.
Lockett will make his major-league debut in the rotation spot that usually belongs to fellow rookie Joey Lucchesi (hip). The 24-year-old was struggling at Triple-A El Paso with a 2-5 record and 5.31 ERA in 10 starts, but Padres manager Andy Green doesn't view that as a problem. "This is the time to start taking looks at guys," Green told reporters. "He's got the opportunity to come up here, establish himself and throw the ball well, and possibly earn another shot."
WALK-OFFS
1. Padres LHP Brad Hand ranks second in the National League with 17 saves after converting all 11 of his opportunities in May.
2. Cincinnati 1B Joey Votto is 11-for-25 while hitting safely in all six games of the road trip but has gone 13 contests without an RBI and 16 without a homer.
3. San Diego RF Wil Myers (oblique) took 20 dry swings on Thursday, the first time he has swung a bat since being injured in late April.