Padres try to erase daytime woes as D-backs look for sweep (May 21, 2017)
SAN DIEGO -- Sundays, day games and series finales have not been kind to the San Diego Padres over the past two seasons.
Going into a Sunday afternoon series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park, the Padres are 1-4 on Sundays this season, 3-9 in day games and 3-11 in the last games of a series. Since the start of the 2016 season, the Padres are 7-24 on Sundays, 18-44 in day games and 15-51 in series finales.
Now the Padres need a win on a Sunday afternoon to salvage a win in the three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and to snap a five-game losing streak.
Overall, the Padres (15-30) have lost 13 of their past 16 games.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks (26-18) are on a roll. They have won five games in a row and eight of their past 10. In the first two games of the series, the Diamondbacks coasted after scoring eight runs in the first inning Friday, then five runs in the first inning Saturday.
Through the first two games of the series, Arizona has outscored the Padres 19-2 and out-hit San Diego 30-8. The only runs the Padres have scored came on a pair of two-out, ninth-inning singles.
"Clearly, our hitters are affected by what the scoreboard says," Padres manager Andy Green said after the Saturday loss. "We gave away at-bats today."
Right-hander Zack Godley will attempt to secure the sweep for the Diamondbacks, while veteran left-hander Clayton Richard will seek to stop the Padres' skid.
Godley, 26, is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three starts this year. Although he is 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds and throws fastballs in the 94-95 range, his forte is his off-speed pitches -- the curveball and the changeup.
"Zack has done an excellent job keeping the hitters off balance," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "He throws all three of his pitches for strikes."
After 18 2/3 innings, opposing hitters are batting .148 against Godley with one home run. He has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his three starts this season and yielded one run to the New York Mets over 6 2/3 innings in his most recent start.
Godley is 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in six career games against San Diego. He is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in his three starts against the Padres and 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two games (one start) at Petco Park.
His first outing of the year was in Arizona vs. the Padres, and he pitched five innings of two-run ball in a no-decision on April 26.
This will be Godley's first road start of the season.
Richard (2-5, 4.86 ERA) has been the Padres' most dependable starter since rejoining the club as a free agent last Aug. 6. He has made 20 appearances (18 starts) since returning to San Diego, producing a 5-8 record and a 3.69 ERA.
He has had success against Arizona, amassing a 9-4 career record and a 4.22 ERA in 89 2/3 innings over 15 starts. In two starts vs. the Diamondbacks this year, he is 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA.
The ground-ball specialist has struggled this season at home, where he is 1-3 with a 6.08 ERA in four starts.
"Clayton gives us a chance to win almost every time he goes out there," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He battles. And when he pitches low in the zone, he's tough be get runs against."
