San Diego Padres vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction: A tough round up matchup

On Sunday, Major League Baseball action will take place at Petco Park, featuring a matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres. This will be the last game of a weekend series that consists of three games. The Rays took a four-run victory in the Friday opener, and then in game two, the Padres evened it up with a shutout win. 

On Friday, the San Diego Padres did not score until the seventh inning and were unable to do much despite collecting seven hits as a club. The San Diego Padres scored both of their runs on Saturday in the fifth inning of the game. In the start, Blake Snell pitched for 6.0 innings, allowing two hits, three walks, and striking out 12 batters. On Sunday, the Padres will go with Joe Musgrove as their starting pitcher. Musgrove is now 4-2 on the season with a 4.37 earned run average and 47 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched over his nine starts. Musgrove has appeared in 179 games (153 starts) throughout the course of his career, compiling a record of 54-56 with an earned run average of 3.82.

During the game on Friday, the Rays scored four runs in the fifth inning, which contributed to the team's ultimate 6-2 victory. On Saturday, Tampa Bay was held to only three hits, suffering a 2-0 defeat. Zach Eflin, the starter, went 6.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits while walking two batters. On Sunday, the starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays will be Yonny Chirinos. Chirinos has appeared in nine games (two as a starter) and has compiled a record of 3-1 with a 2.35 earned run average.

I'm going to take a chance on the Padres. Musgrove has had a good run of success recently. Over his last three starts, he has allowed just four earned runs on 14 hits and five walks across 17.0 innings. Musgrove's record during the span is perfect. On Saturday, San Diego's bullpen contributed to a perfect pitching effort by going 5.0 innings and striking out five batters on one hit with no walks. I think the Padres have a fantastic chance to win the series, but they may need a bit more offense in this last game to secure a victory.