Padres pregame: Soto entrenched in two-hole, Snell looking to play stopper - The San Diego Union-Tribune

2022-08-12 23:58:47 By : Mr. peter xie

The first time the post-deadline Padres faced a left-hander, Bob Melvin swapped Juan Soto and Manny Machado in the two- and three-holes. Since then, the Padres’ manager has settled on keeping Soto in the two-hole as is the case as the Padres face a third straight southpaw on Monday.

First pitch is a 6:40 p.m.

Soto has not driven in a run yet as a Padre, but is hitting .313/.476/.500 with five walks and no strikeouts in his first five games with the Padres.

“(Soto) gets on base quite a bit,” Melvin said over the weekend in Los Angeles. “Ahead of Manny, it worked out pretty well the first night. We may settle on that for a while. We’ll see what happens when Fernando (Tatis Jr.) comes back.”

The Padres are hitting .168/.245/.216 in four games since the new-look lineup’s first effort against the Rockies, although the last three games came against a Dodgers team that leads the majors with 345 runs allowed.

The Giants are 18th with 472 runs allowed.

A position change to the Padres’ Monday lineup moved Brandon Drury from DH to first base and moved Josh Bell to designated hitter:

Because the Padres are facing a rash of lefties, Myers is playing a third straight game in center field over Trent Grisham.

Myers is hitting .250/.304/.250 with three RBIs, two walks and eight strikeouts since returning from the injured list last week. He hasn’t started in the eight-hole since the third game of the season in April.

The new-look lineup is also pushing Cronenworth into the seven-hole, his lowest spot in the order to start a game this year.

Cronenworth is hitting .208/.367/.458 over his last eight games (seven starts).

Before the start of this three-game series, the Giants brought third baseman Evan Longoria (hamstring) off the injured list, optioned outfielder Bryce Johnson to Triple-A Sacramento and penciled Longoria into the lineup as the designated hitter.

The 36-year-old Longoria is hitting .243/.331/.459 with nine homers and 19 RBIs in 49 games this year.

Here is the rest of the Giants’ lineup:

Today’s #SFGiants lineup pic.twitter.com/IjOOHmuaoW

Giants LHP Alex Wood (7-9, 4.42 ERA)

The 31-year-old veteran has allowed seven runs in 14 1/3 innings across three starts this year against the Padres, striking out 18 against four walks. Wood tied a season high with six earned runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings in his last start against the Dodgers.

Here is how Wood has fared in his career against current Padres:

Padres LHP Blake Snell (4-5, 4.16 ERA)

He’s earned three straight wins, striking out 21 against three walks in 17 innings. In one start against the Giants this year, Snell struck out 11 over six innings of one-run ball. Snell has a 3.48 ERA in four career starts (20 2/3 innings) against San Francisco.

Here is how Snell has fared in his career against current Giants:

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