BEST LINE: Pinnacle -109 

POSTED at 9:25 AM EST.

1:00 PM EST. The Padres have scored 14 runs over their past nine games and just two runs over their past three games, which includes the last two games at Citizens Bank Park. Over that nine-game stretch, San Diego is batting .155, they’ve struck out 97 times and they have a measly 19 extra base hits in 272 plate appearances. The Padres have two wins over their past nine games and one of those victories occurred when they had one hit in a game against Pittsburgh (a bunt single, no less) and won, 3-2. To win today, the Padres are going to have to score quite a few because Eric Stults has very little chance of success. At 34-years-old, Stults’ is the epitome of a lefty soft-tosser. His four-pitch mix makes up for his weak 87-mph fastball but it's his pinpoint control (13 BB in 65 IP) that allows him to keep his job for now. One thing you can count on is that Stults will get into a bunch of jams every game and give the opposition plenty of opportunities to score. In 13 starts, he has a 1.55 WHIP, a 4.65 xERA (5.68 actual ERA), 34 K’s (in 65 IP) and a weak 6% swing and miss rate.

Kyle Kendrick is 1-6 with an ERA of 4.30 after 12 starts. Kendrick teased us with a couple of decent years and a nice uptick in strikeouts in 2012 but there's not much upside in this skill set except that he can take the ball every fifth day. In the end, the weak strikeout numbers, middling xERA and his disaster risk all make Kendrick at best an innings eater. Thing is, the Padres are going so bad right now that they have a great chance of making Kendrick look good. Without an advantage on the hill, which they do not have here, the Padres are a great fade spotting less than a dime.