This is an 8* on SAN DIEGO

San Diego’s only path to the playoffs is the Wild Card and their season-long hold on that position is slipping. They’ve lost six of seven, all to losing teams. It was fortunate that the Reds also lost Tuesday night as the Padres lead for the 2nd WC is down to 1.5 games. Back to back losses to Colorado, on the heels of losing three of four at Arizona, is just not acceptable for a team trying to make the playoffs. The Padres have now dropped six straight at Coors Field where the Rockies obviously play much better than they do at home. But we’ll call for San Diego to “circle the wagons” Wednesday afternoon and avoid the sweep, just like they did Sunday in Arizona. We know it’s risky to back Jake Arrieta as he was just waived by a Cubs team that has lost 18 of its last 21 games. But he’ll be backed by a better offense here in San Diego. Key here is that Colorado has the weakest member of its starting rotation going today. That would be Chi Chi Gonzalez. Not only does he have a 6.04 ERA for the year, but he has a 9.00 ERA over his last three starts. He hasn’t pitched since July 23rd due to being on the COVID-19 list. In his previous five starts vs. the Padres, Gonzales is 0-2 with a 6.40 ERA. Play on SAN DIEGO

AAA