(957) PADRES at (958) CUBS
Free Pick: (957) PADRES +105
There’s no getting around the fact that the Padres have two things going against them today. One is their continuously horrible defense, which was almost solely the reason they lost to the Cubs on Saturday. The other is Andrew Cashner’s inability to be even close to the same guy on the road as he is at Petco.
Nevertheless, I’ll look for San Diego to have a good chance to win this series finale as they go after struggling Jon Lester. The talented lefty has a big problem right now when runners get on base. He’s got the yips when it comes to throwing to first base, and everyone knows it. Consequently, teams are running wild on Lester and it’s safe to assume the Padres will try that same tactic here.
If it was just the problem with runners on base, that might not be enough to warrant fading Lester. But it sure looks like that issue might be impacting the rest of his game as well. It sure seems like he’s putting pressure on himself to be perfect with every pitch now to try and keep guys off the bases. That’s not a good thing, as Lester certainly looks like he’s out of his typical comfort zone.
Cashner needs to do better than he has, the Friars need to avoid the costly gaffes with the gloves and they have to get on base often enough against Lester to see if he again falls victim to whatever strange malady is affecting him currently. My take is that until Lester shows he’s over this bizarre problem, he’s go against material, so I’ll look at the Padres to get it done as the Sunday free play.