The Friars continued their hot hitting ways in Cincinnati on Friday, as the team rolled on to a 6-2 victory over the Reds thanks to a trio of Padres hitters who left the yard. The Padres (28-28), who have posted a .700 winning percentage in their last 10 games, will look to secure a series victory and improve to a winning record on the year against the Reds (23-30) at Great American Ballpark.
RHP Andrew Cashner (2-8, 3.46 ERA) will take the hill for the Padres, and the team hopes that Cashner can recover from a rough outing from earlier this week. In his last outing against the Mets, Cashner surrendered five earned runs on 11 hits while also striking out a career-high 12 batters on June 1st. Cashner and the Padres will face off against RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-1, 3.06 ERA).
To get you ready for Saturday’s contest, here are some highlights from today’s game notes:
- Winning Big – This season, the Padres own an average margin of victory this season of 3.86 runs, the highest margin in the National League and the fifth-best in baseball, behind only Oakland (4.70), Toronto (4.38), Kansas City (3.93), and Texas (3.87).
- Team Effort – After third baseman Will Middlebrooks drove in a pair of runs on Friday, the Padres now have four players this season with 25 or more RBI, tied for the highest total in Major League Baseball. Middlebrooks joins outfielders Matt Kemp (26 RBI) and Justin Upton (37 RBI), along with catcher Derek Norris (35 RBI) as the group of four Friars with 25+ RBI. The only other National League teams to have also fielded four players with 25+ RBI are the St. Louis Cardinals and today’s opponent, the Cincinnati Reds. Thanks to Norris and Upton, the Friars have two players with 30+ RBI this season, tied for the highest total in the National League as well.
- Cashner vs. the Reds – Cashner will be making his ninth career appearance and third career start against Cincinnati this afternoon. Over those nine appearances, Cashner owns an 0-1 record with a 3.18 ERA with 14 strikeouts and six walks while limiting the opposition to a .261 batting average. In his last start against the Reds on May 13th of last season, Cashner earned a no-decision and a quality start after throwing 7.0 innings of one-run baseball and striking out six.
- Bringing the Fuzz – According to FanGraphs.com, Cashner’s average fastball velocity has been 95.2 MPH this season – the third-highest mark in the National League, trailing behind only the Mets’ Matt Harvey (95.8 MPH) and Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (95.6 MPH).
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ICYMI: Friars go yard to roll past Reds
