Today at 1:05 p.m. ET, the San Diego Padres (28-37) and Philadelphia Phillies (27-36) take the field for the final contest of a three-game set live from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The game can be live streamed here. San Diego fans can hear all of the action on XPRS 1090 while Philadelphia fans can do the same on 1210 WPHT.
San Diego looks to avoid the sweep to start its eight-game road trip and to stave off its fourth straight loss overall while Philadelphia looks to start its six-game homestand off with a clean sweep through three games. The Phillies defeated the Padres 5-2 on Tuesday and blanked them 3-0 Wednesday.
San Diego enters this game in fourth place in the National League West while Philadelphia is dead last in the NL East.
Eric Stults (2-7, 5.68) takes the ball for the Padres while the Phillies counter with Kyle Kendrick, who is 1-6 with a 4.30 ERA.
Kendrick will look to have a strong first inning as 12 of his 36 earned runs this season have come in the opening frame.
"KK has had problems with that in numerous starts, as far as putting up a zero right away," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg told MLB.com. "To put up a zero there and let us try and add on there, that would be key."
One hitter Kendrick should be wary of is outfielder Seth Smith, who is 9-for-15 with four extra-base hits in his career against the right-hander. Smith leads San Diego with a .299 average and six homers while second baseman Jedd Gyorko paces the team with 24 RBIs.
Stults, whose seven losses are tied for second most in the NL, has allowed 18 earned runs in his last 19 innings and allowed six runs and eight hits in just 2.1 innings last time out against the Washington Nationals.
"His pitches are up in the zone; he's not locating his fastball," Padres manager Bud Black said per MLB.com. "A pitcher like Stultsy has to hit his spots. And today he didn't do it, and they took advantage of it."
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is fifth in the NL with a .314 average and ranks third with 24 doubles. Utley has four homers and 31 RBIs on the season. Philadelphia outfielder Ben Revere is third in the NL with 18 stolen bases this season.
Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is two hits shy of tying Mike Schmidt for the franchise's all-time hits record. Schmidt has 2,234 hits. First baseman Ryan Howard paces Philadelphia in homers (11) and RBIs (41) but he also ranks first in the MLB with 82 strikeouts.
The Padres look to avoid the sweep while the Phillies hope to complete the three-game win when these teams take the field this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
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