Series Preview

San Diego Padres (15-17, 3rd in NL West, 5.0 GB) @ Chicago Cubs (15-17, 3rd in NL Central, 3.0 GB)

Cubs Top Hitters
1. Mike Fontenot (.358, 3 HR, 20 RBI)
2. Geovanny Soto (.297, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
3. Milton Bradley (.307, 4 HR, 18 RBI)

Probable Pitchers (Subject to Change)
Kevin Correia (2-2, 2.05 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (1-1, 3.96 ERA)
Shawn Hill (2-1, 2.74 ERA) vs. Sean Marshall (0-5, 9.12 ERA)
Jeff Niemann (3-3, 5.40 ERA) vs. Rich Harden (4-1, 2.70 ERA)



Ron Burgundy's Thoughts
Coming into this series with the Cubs we are still in a tie for third place in the National League West. We go into Wrigley Field with an identical record to the team from the north side of Chicago, but they are a very dangerous team. Mike Fontenot is hitting the ball like he never has in his life right now, and he is carrying a team that features many weapons. Our offense is hitting the ball very well right now too, so we could have a great showdown with the Cubbies. In our first two games of this series we have our two most solid pitchers this season going, Kevin Correia and Shawn Hill. Peavy and Young had great complete game outings in the previous two games, hopefully those two can continue the streak of good pitching for us. I am ready to have a great time in Wrigley Field this week, maybe they'll let me sing during the seventh inning stretch, I'd really show those fans how a winner does things.

Series Preview

San Diego Padres (13-16, 3rd in NL West, 5 GB) @ Houston Astros (9-20, 6th in NL Central, 8 GB)

Astros Top Hitters
1. Lance Berkman (.274, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
2. Hunter Pence (.259, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
3. Carlos Lee (.255, 4 HR, 11 RBI)

Probable Pitchers (Subject to Change)
Jeff Niemann (2-3, 6.41 ERA) vs. Felipe Paulino (1-2, 3.71 ERA)
Jake Peavy (2-4, 6.68 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (1-4, 4.12 ERA)
Chris Young (3-1, 4.31 ERA) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (0-3, 6.89 ERA)



Ron Burgundy's Thoughts
It feels weird not saying that our team is in last place. We are in a pivotal spot in our season though because we are sitting in a three way tie, and if one of the teams starts to spudder they could get left behind the other two. Luckily we are playing a very poor team so we have a good chance of pulling ahead of the other two. We have a nice 4 game winning streak going, and during that our pitching has been great. We really need Jeff Niemann to step up in the first start, because in the second we are having wildly inconsistent Jake Peavy going against Roy Oswalt. The Astros are struggling due to their offense, but Minute Maid Park is a launching pad most days so we have to be careful with them. They have talent, it's just not coming together for them right now. What is coming together recently is our offense. We are hitting on all cylinders lately and we look to keep it going in this three game set. I talked to my good friend Champ Kind, he really likes where we are going right now, and that's good enough for me. While I'm gone in Houston stay classy San Diego, and we'll bring some class to those Astros fans.

Series Preview

Arizona Diamondbacks (13-14, 3rd in NL West, 3 GB) @ San Diego Padres (11-16, 5th in NL West, 5 GB)

Diamondbacks Top Hitters
1. Mark Reynolds (.321, 11 HR, 24 RBI)
2. Miguel Montero (.301, 6 HR, 20 RBI)
3. Stephen Drew (.290, 5 HR, 19 RBI)

Probable Pitchers (Subject to Change)
Max Scherzer (0-2, 9.24 ERA) vs. Kevin Correia (1-2, 2.50 ERA)
Doug Davis (1-1, 4.61 ERA) vs. Shawn Hill (1-1, 2.95 ERA)



Ron Burgundy's Thoughts
One thousand one, one thousand two...Oh, I'm sorry, I was working out. I wasn't expecting you. I don't know if you heard but I was over a thousand. Anyways, here's another short series against a division rival. This time we face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though this series is only two games, is it huge for us. If we sweep the D'Backs here we have a chance to climb out of the cellar into a tie for third place. We have favorable pitching matchups as well as our two most consistent pitchers Kevin Correia and Shawn Hill take the mound for us. The Arizona Diamondbacks have been an absolute offense power so far this year, but they have terrible pitching up to this point. We need to jump on their pitching and keep Mark Reynolds and company in the ballpark. I'm loving where our team is right now, we have a real chance to make a dent in the standings this week.

Series Preview

Colorado Rockies (11-12, 4th in NL West, 3 GB) @ San Diego Padres (9-16, 5th in NL West, 6 GB)

Rockies Top Hitters
1. Ian Stewart (.303, 8 HR, 19 RBI)
2. Dexter Fowler (.333, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
3. Garrett Atkins (.308, 3 HR, 18 RBI)

Probable Pitchers (Subject to Change)
Jason Marquis (0-2, 7.33 ERA) vs. Jake Peavy (1-4, 8.10 ERA)
Greg Smith (2-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Chris Young (2-1, 4.97 ERA)



Ron Burgundy's Thoughts
This is an interesting short two games series. We have our ace and number two starters going against two of their weaker pitchers, but Peavy and Young haven't exactly had top of rotation stuff. Peavy had one great start, then fell back to sub-par pitching in his last start. Chris Young is really starting to come around, he's somebody our rotation can fall in line with and be very successful. Our offense has been firing on all cylinders lately, Scott Hairston and Adrian Gonzalez have really jump started their games. We have to be careful though because the Rockies have a very potent offense. Ian Stewart is hammering the ball this year, and Dexter Fowler has been very active in being the best rookie in the NL so far this year. With a two game sweep here we can get right in the mix with the rest of the NL West, that's something we need to shoot for to keep our hopes alive for 2009. It's good to be back in San Diego, I'll see you all at Tino's after the game for some great steak and scotch.