Are the Padres a serious wild card contender? They are six games out of the second slot with six weeks to play in the season. They are also six games under .500 On the other hand, the teams leading the wild card are not that much farther over .500. It’s possible in this race that it ends up very much like the 1973 NL East, where the Mets won the division just three games over .500, with four teams within two wins of a .500 record. Odrisamer Despaigne takes on Cy Young contender Adam Wainwright. Despaigne distributes his walks in such a way to minimize their damage. With no one on base, he allowed ten walks in 132 PA, good for a .295 OBP. With men on he walked 12 in 104 PA, for a .379 OBP, but allowed just one extra base hit. Even though he has yet to issue an intentional walk, I bet he pitches around batters in dangerous situations, so there is little chance of a long advancement by runners. Wainwright has been a bit off in his last six starts, with a 4.26 ERA, a higher walk rate and a lower K rate.

The Nationals go for a sweep of the Pirates after winning the first two games of the series by one run. Edinson Volquez faces Doug Fister. Volquez has a tendency to allow home runs on the road, with 10 of his 15 coming away from Pittsburgh. Fister also gives up the long ball, but with his walks about even with his home runs allowed, eight of the 11 homers have been solo shots.

Enjoy!