Arizona Has His Number
In the midst of the longest winless stretch of his career, future Hall
of Famer Greg Maddux can’t be too excited about having to face the NL
West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.
Maddux looks to win his
first game in 2 1/2 months against a team he’s never had much luck
against on Monday when the San Diego Padres open a three-game series
versus the Diamondbacks.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global
have made San Diego -115 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has
been set at 8 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 64% of bets for this game have been placed on San Diego -115 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Since earning his 350th career victory on May 10, Greg Maddux (3-8, 4.18 ERA) is 0-5 with a 4.54 ERA in his last 14 starts.
He’s
been hit hard in a few of those outings, but in nine of those starts
he’s given up two earned runs or less. A hapless offense and
inconsistent bullpen have been the reason for his winless drought.
The
Padres (41-65) have scored the second-fewest runs in the majors (403),
and Maddux’s 3.74 run support average since May 15 is the fifth-worst
in the NL in that span.
On Wednesday at Cincinnati, the
right-hander allowed three runs – two earned – and seven hits in 5 1-3
innings and left with a 3-2 lead, but San Diego went on to lose 9-5.
"I
appreciate the fact that I’m still playing," the 42-year-old pitcher
said. "I appreciate the fact that I still play good enough to win. I
haven’t won, but I feel like I’ve been playing (good). And I do
appreciate that."
While Maddux has been pitching decent,
including a 2.94 ERA in eight home starts during his skid, he has had
no luck against Arizona (53-51) in his career.
The four-time Cy
Young Award winner is 2-11 with a 5.29 ERA in 19 starts versus the
Diamondbacks, his worst record and ERA against any NL opponent. In his
only start of 2008 against Arizona on April 18, Maddux was tagged for a
season-high nine runs and career high-tying 13 hits in seven innings of
a 9-0 loss.
The Diamondbacks are coming off a three-game sweep at
San Francisco, capped by Sunday’s 7-2 victory. Arizona has won five of
six and owns a one-game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers
in the division.
Conor Jackson has been a big part of the
Diamondbacks’ recent surge, as he’s batting .514 (19-for-37) with four
home runs, eight RBIs and 13 runs in nine games since the All-Star
break. He went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and three runs on Sunday, but
is 1-for-21 (.048) in his last five games versus San Diego.
Micah Owings (6-8, 5.40) returns to Arizona’s rotation Monday for the first time in nearly three weeks.
Owings
got off to a solid start to the year, going 5-1 with a 3.81 ERA in his
first eight starts, but went 1-7 with a 6.92 ERA in his next nine and
had been demoted to the bullpen. In his last relief appearance on
Wednesday, the right-hander yielded five runs, two hits, three walks
and retired just one batter in Arizona’s 10-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Despite that rough outing, Owings is set to make his first start since July 9.
"We
saw Micah have a great second half last year after a little bit of a
lull similar to this season, and we expect him to pick it up,"
Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin told the team’s official Web site.
In
his only start of the season against the Padres on April 26, Owings
gave up five runs and five hits in five innings of an 8-7, 13-inning
loss. He is 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in four career starts versus them.
San
Diego defeated Pittsburgh 3-1 on Sunday for its third straight victory
after losing 22 of its previous 28 games. This is the Padres’ longest
winning streak since a season-best five-game run June 4-8.
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