(Cal Quantrill photo courtesy Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports)
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Note: The 5/5 does NOT represent the best overall pick of the day’s games when there are multiple games, simply the best pick(s) from each individual game.
When and Where: Saturday, July 27, Petco Park, San Diego, Calif., 8:40 p.m. EDT.
Highly touted Adrian Morejon could make his third major league appearance for the San Diego Padres on Saturday night when their series continues versus the San Francisco Giants.
But 20-year-old continues to be the subject of trade rumors as the Padres adding to their starting rotation to make a push for the National League wild-card spots ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
Giants rookie Anderson trying to rediscover groove
Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.91 ERA) is one of three rookies currently in the rotation for the Giants, who have surged into wild-card contention since the All-Star break. But of the trio, the right-hander is the one enduring the most struggles at the moment.
Anderson has no record with a 7.85 ERA in his last four starts, failing to last beyond the fifth inning in any outing — though the Giants have won all four games.
He had trouble keeping the ball in the park Monday versus the Chicago Cubs, yielding a pair of solo homers and three runs overall in five innings and left without a decision as San Francisco rallied for a 5-4 victory.
Opponents are hitting .329 with 25 hits over 18 1-3 innings in that span, with 12 of them going for extra bases. He is 1-0 in two starts versus San Diego, but his outing at Petco Park on July 3 started his recent swoon — Anderson yielded four runs and eight hits in four innings before the Giants posted a 7-5 win.
Morejon’s name comes up in possible deal for Mets’ Syndergaard
The Padres have been one of the teams with the most intrigue ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline because they are one the few teams with a farm system so deep that no high-end pitcher is off limits with the right combination of prospects.
That is where Morejon (0-0, 2.70 ERA) enters the picture. The Cuban made his major league debut Sunday at Wrigley Field as an opener and did nothing to diminish his status as a top-end prospect in 2 1-3 innings in which he yielded a solo homer but also showed a four-pitch arsenal and a fastball that topped out at 97.8 miles per hour.
The hard-throwing left-hander also tossed a scoreless nine-pitch inning Thursday against the Mets.
Manager Andy Green, though, has opted to let Cal Quantrill (3-2, 3.76) take the ball in the top of the first for this game. The fellow rookie extended his shutout streak to 13 innings after limiting the Cubs to two hits in 5 2-3 innings, picking up the win as San Diego recorded a 5-1 triumph.
“I think you saw a 20-year-old go out and compete against one of the best teams in the National League. I think that’s exciting,” Quantrill told the club’s official website about Morejon and the vibe around the young pitching corps. “I love being part of it. I think there’s something to learn from young guys. We always talk about what the older guys have to say, then have a young guy come in and just shove — it’s pretty cool.”
The right-hander faced Anderson on July 3 and served up homers to Evan Longoria and Alex Dickerson, which accounted for all three runs he allowed in 4 1-3 innings.
Notable Trends
The Padres are:
- 8-21 in their last 29 Saturday games.
- 0-5 in their last five games vs. starters with a plus-1.30 WHIP.
- 0-8 in their last eight home games.
The Giants are:
- 8-1 in their last nine during game 2 of a series.
- 5-1 in Anderson’s last six starts during game 2 of a series.
- 5-2 in Anderson’s last seven starts vs. sub-.500 teams.
*****5-Star Pick*****
Giants 3-way money line first 5 innings (+140)
This pick is more about San Francisco’s recent head-to-head success versus San Diego, posting a 5-2-2 mark in the last nine meetings. The Padres are 2-4-2 at the midway point during their eight-game home losing streak and 1-5-2 in their last eight overall.
****4-Star Pick****
OVER 4.5 runs (-125)
Friday’s series opener marked just the second time in nine games between the teams the five-inning under has delivered. One of those seven games that went over was the July 3 matchup between Anderson and Quantrill, which resulted in a seven-spot.
Additionally, the over is 3-1-2 in Anderson’s last six starts overall, and 5-2 in Quantrill’s last seven.
***3-Star Pick***
Giants ML (+121)
Anderson has not done much in the way of being effective, but he is doing enough to keep San Francisco in games for the Giants to find ways to win them late.
The Giants also have flipped the script on the Padres, winning six straight between the teams after dropping five of the first seven. While the Giants are 12-3 since the All-Star break, all of their last six victories have been by one run, which rules out the run line for this pick.
OVER 8.5 runs (-110)
The Giants’ offense continues to get the job done during their surge into playoff contention. Despite the under hitting Friday night, the over is 12-4-1 in San Francisco’s last 17 road games, 6-3 in its last nine divisional contests, and is also 10-2-1 in the last 13 Saturday games.
The over also hit four times in San Francisco’s current win streak over San Diego and is 5-2-1 in the Padres’ last eight versus righties.
Giants 8-9 hits band (+240)
The Giants have finished between seven and nine hits in six of their 13 games with the Padres this year. With Quantrill allowing slightly under one hit per inning, the expectation is San Francisco will get between 5 to 7 hits against the right-hander to set up the Giants against a Padres bullpen that has yielded three or more hits in four of their last five games.
OVER 3 runs first 3 innings (+125)
The plus-money line is in intriguing one given the Padres have had eight of their 13 games hit three or more runs in the first three innings since the All-Star break. San Francisco has also played to three or more runs three times in its last five games after doing so just twice in its previous eight.
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