Series Preview- M’s vs. Padres 5/21-5/23

Jumping right in!

Who Would You Rather Have?

(Picks in bold.  Line-ups from tonight’s game.)

C:  M’s Josh Bard vs. SD Nick Hundley.  Disclaimer to start: I know nothing about Hundley or a lot of other guys on the Padres.  This is mostly a guess.  He’s youngish, was decent but not too good offensively last year, not doing a lot this year.  Bard’s been smacking the ball, so I’ll take him.  It would take hardly anything to convince me otherwise.

1B:  M’s Kotchman vs. SD Adrian Gonzalez.  I’m pretty sure about this one.

2B:  M’s Figgins vs. SD David Eckstein.  Eckstein’s actually having a better year, but I can’t pick him on principle.

3B:  M’s Lopez vs. SD Chase Headley.  Not sure how Headley is defensively, but as long as Lopez is hitting this poorly, it doesn’t matter a lot.

SS:  M’s Josh Wilson vs. SD Everth Cabrera.  Neither guy is too good from what I can tell.  Wilson is hitting a little better, so we’ll take him, but I have zero conviction in this pick.

LF:  M’s Milton vs. SD Scott Hairston.  Hairston’s probably been a touch better, actually.

CF:  M’s Guti vs. SD Chris Denorfio

RF:  M’s Ichiro vs. SD Will Venable

DH:  M’s Sweeney vs. SD Oscar Salazar.  This is the saddest match-up of DHs in history.

That’s 7-2 Mariners.  Wow!  These are two bad line-ups.  Guti and Ichi are the only M’s picks that are really beyond debate, same with A-Gon for the Padres.  The rest are pretty debateable.

Pitching Match-ups

Friday:  M’s Cliff Lee vs. SD Wade LeBlanc

Saturday:  M’s Ian Snell vs. SD Clayton Richard.  Richard came over in the Peavy trade and isn’t having a great year, but better than Ian Snell.  No idea what to expect from Snell.  He’s been a little better in relief, so hopefully that will carry over.

Sunday:  M’s Felix vs. SD Matt Latos.  Latos is great.  He’s just not Felix.

Closer: M’s Aardsma vs. SD Heath Bell.  I remember seeing Bell for the first time and being extremely impressed.  Big fastball and slider, if I remember right.  He’s tough.  Aardsma’s been throwing well lately when I’ve seen him.

Pitching’s even, but the Mariners have their two aces going.  Hopefully Felix is back to form.  That San Diego line-up is just as bad as the Mariners if you can contain Gonzalez.  I have no idea how they’re having such a good season.  Can anyone who knows more about the Padres fill me in?  If Snell throws well and we score even a few runs, we’ve got a good chance at a sweep.  I’ll be more than happy with two wins.

Go Mariners!  Believe big!

-Matthew