San Diego at Milwaukee, 6:40 first pitch. The Brewers are 22-16 and have basically not lost a meaningful game in a week — they swept the Yankees over the weekend and have only the tie (a rainout-shortened mess with the Cardinals) blemishing their last 5. The Padres are 24-16 and have actually been the better team on paper this year, but the rotation looks like a MASH unit and they're sending Matt Waldron out there hoping the knuckleball cooperates.
Waldron's ERA reads 7.71 and yes, that's ugly, but his most recent outing was actually the version Padres fans have been waiting for — 5 innings, 1 run, 7 punchouts against the Giants on just 67 pitches. The knuckleball was moving. If he gets that one again, San Diego has a shot. If he gets the other one, this is over by the 4th. Brandon Sproat counters for Milwaukee still chasing his first big-league W (0-2, 5.87), but he was sharp last time too — 4 scoreless against St. Louis with 5 K's. Two guys with bad numbers and good recent vibes.
Market has Milwaukee at -128 on the moneyline with the total sitting at 8.5. That's a tighter price than you'd expect given how the Brewers are playing and how cooked the Padres rotation is, which tells you the market still respects San Diego's overall body of work. The run line is essentially a pick'em at -1, with home plus the runs paying +114 at Pinnacle.
The bigger story is the injury list on the Padres side. Yu Darvish on the restricted list, Joe Musgrove and Jhony Brito on the 60-day, German Marquez and Nick Pivetta both 15-day IL'd with forearm issues, Cronenworth concussed, both catchers banged up. Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito are reportedly being added to stabilize the staff, per Last Word On Sports, but neither is helping Tuesday. Milwaukee has its own problems — Yelich is still working his way back from the groin, Woodruff just had fluid drained from his shoulder — but nothing close to what San Diego is dealing with.
- Day-To-DayBlake Hunt C — Hunt is dealing with an oblique injury and has been shut down from activity, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
- 7-day ilJake Cronenworth 2B — The Padres placed Cronenworth on the 7-day concussion injured list Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILLuis Campusano C — The Padres placed Campusano on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a left toe fracture.
- 15-Day-ILGerman Marquez SP — The Padres placed Marquez on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to right forearm nerve irritation.
- 15-Day-ILNick Pivetta SP — Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters Wednesday that Pivetta was diagnosed with a right flexor strain, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
- 60-Day-ILJhony Brito RP — Brito (forearm) struck out seven and allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk across three innings Thursday in a rehab start in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
- 60-Day-ILJoe Musgrove SP — The Padres transferred Musgrove (elbow) to the 60-day injured list on Thursday.
- 60-Day-ILBryan Hoeing RP — The Padres transferred Hoeing (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- Day-To-DayGerson Garabito RP — Garabito will be out for four months after undergoing surgery to address a broken bone in his foot, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- Day-To-DayJ.B. Bukauskas RP — Bukauskas will undergo surgery on his injured right lat and be sidelined for 9-to-10 months, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 10-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge LF — Lockridge is expected to get an MRI on his injured right knee once swelling subsides, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILChristian Yelich LF — Yelich (groin) is expected to progress to facing live pitching and running the bases early next week, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJared Koenig RP — Koenig (elbow) is slated to resume a throwing program Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff SP — Woodruff is tentatively slated to resume throwing Saturday after undergoing a minor procedure Tuesday to drain fluid from his inflamed right shoulder, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILQuinn Priester SP — Priester (wrist) is with the Brewers in St. Louis after being pulled from his rehab assignment due to shoulder soreness, Sophia Minnaert of Brewers.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILAngel Zerpa RP — Zerpa will undergo UCL reconstruction on his left elbow next week, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Pick your poison: a Padres team that's still 8 games over .500 despite the carnage, or a Brewers team that just can't stop winning at home. Waldron is the swing factor. If the knuckler dances, San Diego stops the streak. If it doesn't, Milwaukee makes it 5 straight at American Family Field and nobody will be shocked.