Jesse Hahn gets another chance to impress as he takes the mound for his second major league appearance this afternoon. His ML debut didn't go too smoothly (3 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but he will get the opportunity today to rebound and try to help snap the Padres' five-game skid. Hahn grew up just a couple hours away from Citi Field, so he'll have family and friends in attendance, which hopefully will prove comforting for the young right-hander. Add to that the fact that he'll be facing one of the league's worst offensive teams, who have lost eight of their last ten games.
This season Hahn has gone 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 11 games (eight starts) for the Missions. In his most recent outing, on Monday, he pitched a season-high 5 2/3 innings while allowing only one run. It was as good of a performance as you could ask for from him going into his second try in the majors.
Unortunately for Hahn, as bad as the Mets offense has been performing this season, our Padres have been even worse. Last in the league in most (if not all) offensive categories, San Diego might need a miracle to pull off a win even against a team like the Mets. Their .215 collective batting average this season is awful enough, but they've been producing even less during their five-game losing streak, hitting just .179 with seven runs total in that span. Furthermore, they've dropped six of their last seven contests at Citi Field.
One thing the Padres may have going for them, however, is the fact that their opposing pitcher hasn't won a game at home since last August. Zack Wheeler is 0-4 in seven starts at Citi Field over the last ten months. He's also coming off a game against the Giants that saw him surrender four runs on six hits, two walks, and a hit batsman while lasting only 3 2/3 innings. But Wheeler was fantastic in his only career start against the Friars. He kept them to just one run in six frames while striking out a career-high 12 batters last August at Petco Park.
Game 2 kicks off at 1:10 this afternoon. See if our Padres can pull off a miracle.