The Atlanta Braves won’t have much time to reflect on the constant stress that was their series with the Rockies as the San Diego Padres come to SunTrust Park for a 4-game series.
Many in the MLB industry mentioned the San Diego Padres as a sleeper playoff team for the 2019 season, giving them even more respect than the Atlanta Braves received in 2018.
The Padres signed Manny Machado to go along with incumbents like Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers.
Combine that with the most talented farm system in baseball (according to Baseball America) and the Friars are coming, whether that is 2019 or beyond.
The starting rotation was thought to be the weakness for San Diego – as the lineup is stacked – along with the back end of the bullpen with Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen.
But so far, the Padres starting staff has a combined ERA of 3.41, while guiding the club to a 16-11 record—good for second place in a better-than-expected NL West.
The Braves have had significant success over San Diego in recent seasons, as they are 13-7 against the Padres since 2016, with a lot of those wins coming in Atlanta.
Much like what the industry thought of the Braves farm system over the past three or four seasons, the Padres are about to have influx of young studs to anchor PetCo Park for many years to come.
The weather looks perfect over the next four days, as temperatures are expected to be in the 80s, with no chance of rain.
It’s a perfect time for the Braves to right the ship and emerge in a clustered NL East. In that regard, Atlanta is very lucky its bullpen has not buried it in the standings.
Here are the pitching matchups…