All right, baseball fans. Hunker down and let's chat about this impending matchup—the Arizona Diamondbacks are traveling out to grace us with their presence at Petco Park, going up against San Diego's very own Padres.
Let's look at the men on the mound first, shall we? For Arizona, we've got Brandon Pfaadt. His season hasn't been the best, no sugar coating here, folks. A 5.42 ERA and 1.38 WHIP isn't going to get you a standing ovation. Meanwhile, the Padres are tossing out Dylan Cease. A slightly better 4.77 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, but certainly nothing to write home about.
That being said, fans might have some thrilling moments courtesy of Arizona's top guns— Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Ketel Marte have seen some decent time on the plate last season. For the Padres, they've got a trio that's arguably not at their rainbow's end, but Luis Arraez, Xander Bogaerts, and Manny Machado are still players to watch.
For those who enjoy a stroll down memory lane, in recent head-to-head confrontations these teams have been pretty evenly matched, trading wins back and forth like baseball cards.
Season records give the slight edge to the Padres with 48 wins to Arizona's 45. Seems the Diamondback's scales are tipping a bit too much to the losing end.
It's make or break time now. My pick? Well, read it and weep.
Albert’s Prediction: San Diego Padres by 2