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The Padres, not deep offensively and down Ramon Laureano, had to start five left-handed batters against Boyd, three in a row near the bottom of the order. Those three went 0-for-9. Today, they’ll see much of the same, with Andrew Kittredge opening for Shota Imanaga. Imanaga fell off a bit from his strong rookie campaign, his flyball tendency increasing and more of them leaving the yard. The Cubs, remember, are down two homegrown starters in Justin Steele and Cade Horton, so they’ll be patching together the rotation all month long. The Padres counter with Dylan Cease, the right-handed Blake Snell, who from game to game could do just about anything: throw a no-hitter, walk the park, walk the park while throwing a no-hitter. The Padres were three outs from their optimal game script yesterday -- turning a lead over to the nuclear bullpen -- and they have a better chance of finishing the job today.
