It was four weeks ago that Matt Waldron was staked to a big early lead at Petco vs. the Diamonbacks as he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of an eventual 13-1 win. San Diego has since further accelerated and enters tonight having won 12 of 15 (including a rousing 10-8, walk-off win last night over the same Arizona) and now into one of the NL wild card spots. Waldron had a solid June with a 2.45 ERA, while D-backs counterpart Brandon Pfaadt could only spin a 4.50 ERA in six June starts, and was hammered at Petco on June 7 when allowing nine hits (and three homers) in a 10-3 loss.

The Padres entered play Friday as one of the hottest teams in MLB, and I like them to do damage against the floundering D-Backs, who continue to lose key starters. San Diego had won 11 of 13 at home and 11 of 14 overall, including nine wins by multiple runs. Matt Waldron's knuckler has been great lately and the D-Backs crushed him earlier in the season, but last time he faced them he threw 6.0 innings of three-hit ball, allowing only one run. Brandon Pfaadt has not refound his playoff form; he's allowed 19 hits and eight earned runs in two starts against the Padres. He has a 5.03 ERA on the road, and Arizona has won just three of those nine starts.