The San Diego Padres will host the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at 9:10 p.m. ET in the final matchup up the three-game series. The D-Backs took Game 1, but Padres' starter Odrisamer Despaigne delivered a masterful performance in Game 2 to capture the win.
San Diego will send Brandon Morrow (0-0 with a 0.00 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday night to face Chase Anderson (0-0 with a 5.40 ERA) of the Diamondbacks. The two right-handers hope to get a win after receiving a no-decision in each of their first starts.
Morrow tossed seven scoreless innings and gave up only four hits and three walks against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Padres' center fielder Wil Myers broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI double, which ended up being the deciding factor.
The 30-year-old Morrow faced the D-Backs once in 2010 when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was knocked around on the road, giving up six runs over four innings in an 8-6 loss. However, after two rough injury-shortened seasons in 2013 and 2014, during which he appeared in only 23 games (16 starts) and maintained a 5.65 ERA, he's ready to show what he's got after signing a one-year deal and earning a spot in the Padres' rotation during spring training.
On the other hand, Anderson enjoyed a solid rookie season in 2014 after going 9-7 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.373 WHIP and 105 strikeouts in 21 starts (114 1/3 innings). He was charged with three earned runs on five hits and three walks in his first start of the 2015 season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
In three career starts against San Diego, the right-hander owns a 2-1 record with a 4.20 ERA and 1.733 WHIP, but those outings came last year before new general manager A.J. Preller revamped the Padres' roster.
Anderson will now have to face a lineup that boasts Matt Kemp (leads team with .368 averge), Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Derek Norris and others, rather than the weak offensive cast (last in MLB in 2014 for runs scored) San Diego possessed all of last year.
Nonetheless, both teams have been hitting the ball well after upgrading their rosters in the offseason, and the winner of tonight's contest will take the first season series against their division rival.
You can view the live stream of tonight's game here as well as the live radio broadcast here (if you're a Padres fan) or here (if you're a Diamondbacks fan).