San Diego has winning streak snapped, still in good position

The reason for that verdict is due to Kikuchi being a downright awful pitcher. If he was on just about any other team, he’d be sent to the minors. But he’s on the Angels, and they need the pitching. What Kikuchi lacks in stuff he makes up for in mostly – serviceable innings. He pitched a career-high 33 starts with Los Angeles last year and was their “ace” (though that’s not a word I would use to describe him). If the Friars can’t get to Kikuchi, it’s a bad omen of a serious departure from the recent slugfest that has been San Diego. Their only problem will be scoring enough to make up for Márquez. Here’s the thing, Márquez hasn’t been as bad as some worried. But he also hasn’t been good enough to justify a spot in the rotation if not for injuries on the Padres’ roster. Márquez seemed to turn around his early slump with a scoreless five innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he shortly followed that up with a rough five innings against the Colorado Rockies in which he gave up four runs. He earned his first win with San Diego in that outing because their offense outpaced Colorado’s, but it’s still disheartening. That being said, if Márquez can turn it around against anybody, it’s the Angels. Despite the fact that they’re top 10 in MLB in on-base (.338) and slugging percentage (.414), they’re 20th in batting average (.231). And the only reason that they’re high in OBP is because they’ve been issued an MLB-leading 98 walks. Márquez has limited his free passes well this year, giving up only five across four starts. So long as he can limit hard contact, he should have a decent outing.

Batter up!

Leadoff man Ramón Laureano was out of the lineup yesterday as part of manager Craig Stammen’s constant rest philosophy. It’s boded well so far for San Diego, and Laureano’s presence in the lineup likely wouldn’t have changed much in the Friars’ 8-0 loss. That being said, Laureano will be back in the top spot tonight. Not only is he the obvious option, he has a career batting average of .308 against Kikuchi (26 at-bats). In fact, the Padres have a combined .337 average against the left-hander. That means the lineup will likely be business as usual. Except for a few things: Jackson Merrill has played *a lot* lately, and Miguel Andujar has been raking (and does so especially against lefties). The latter will probably slot into the lineup, while the former sits the bench for a rest day:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
5. Gavin Sheets, 1B
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Bryce Johnson, CF
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenwroth, 2B Cronenworth took the leadoff spot in last night’s game and has continued to disappoint. He lowered his batting average to an unfortunate .138 mark. Campusano will likely continue his stretch as the lone backstop with Freddy Fermin still being dealt with cautiously after his concussion scare.

Relief corps

With Waldron only managing to pitch 3 2/3 innings, the ‘pen was relied on *heavily*. David Morgan gave up his first runs of the year on a two-run shot. Wandy Peralta, Bradgley Rodriguez and Kyle Hart pitched a clean 3 2/3 to finish out the game. After some trouble lately, Rodriguez looked especially sharp, striking out all three batters faced. He lowered his ERA to 0.84 to start the year and has been on a tear lately. If not for a guy named Mason Miller, he might be viewed as the best reliever in this group. Speaking of, the dominant closer will hopefully emerge from the bullpen for the bottom of the ninth tomorrow. He’ll be available after getting plenty of rest yesterday. Also available out of the ‘pen are Jason Adam, Ron Marinaccio and Adrian Morejon. All four represent high-leverage options for Stammen to pick from, though he’ll likely tab Marinaccio if the Padres have a sizable lead when Márquez exits.