Philadelphia @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2014 ) Philadelphia 5, San Diego 2

The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres are not fighting for postseason positioning, but they are locked in a battle. The Phillies will try to earn a split of the four-game series and leave town with the better record between the two clubs when they visit the Padres for the finale of a four-game series Thursday. San Diego (70-81) took the first two games to jump ahead of Philadelphia but things tightened again when the Phillies (70-82) grabbed a 5-2 victory on Wednesday.

Philadelphia is trying to find the pieces that will make up the next contender for the franchise and got encouraging efforts from Darin Ruf, Maikel Franco, Ben Revere and Domonic Brown, who combined for seven hits in Wednesday’s win. The Padres are in the same evaluation process and guaranteed themselves a winning home record by taking the first two games of the series. San Diego is 42-32 at home and gets a chance to impact the National League postseason race when San Francisco comes to town over the weekend.

TV: 9:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (9-12, 4.72 ERA) vs. Padres LH Robbie Erlin (3-4, 4.89)

Kendrick is 4-1 in his last five starts and held Miami to one run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings to earn a win Saturday. The 30-year-old has surrendered seven home runs in his last seven turns and 24 in 30 starts this season – two shy of matching his career high. Kendrick beat San Diego at home on June 12, allowing two runs – one earned – on seven hits in six innings.

Erlin is getting the nod in place of Tyson Ross, who is battling some soreness. Erlin (elbow) came back from an absence of nearly four months and pitched out of the bullpen at Colorado on Sept. 7, allowing three runs on five hits in two innings. The 23-year-old has made one career start against the Phillies and did not factor in the decision while allowing two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Padres RF Seth Smith (hamstring) has missed the last two games and is day-to-day.

2. Philadelphia CF Revere drove in two runs Wednesday, snapping a string of 11 straight games without an RBI.

3. San Diego 3B Yangervis Solarte has recorded multiple hits in four of his last six games.

PREDICTION: Phillies 5, Padres 4