San Diego just may be the worst team in baseball, 14 games below .500 and in rebuilt mode. So the opportunity to lay a low price against them - especially when the Padres are going with a vulnerable starting pitcher - is a solid investment.

The Padres have been outscored 48-17 in losing five of their last six games. They did win the opener of this series on Friday. But are 2-9 the past 11 times when playing Game 2 of a series. The Royals have won the last six times when playing in the second game of a series.

I'm expecting a bounce back victory from the Royals again with a pitching matchup of Ian Kennedy versus Miguel Diaz.

It's easy to get down on Kennedy because he hasn't been pitching well. However, everything sets up well for him here. He's finally healthy after being bothered by a leg injury. He has a good history when pitching at Petco Park - a place he knows well having pitched for the Padres from 2013-15 - and he's 7-2 lifetime against San Diego from his days with Arizona.

The Padres also have the weakest offense in the majors ranking last in runs and batting average.

Diaz is a reliever with a 7.50 ERA who is pressed into starting duty because of an injury to Jared Cosart. Diaz isn't ready. Padres manager Andy Green isn't optimistic either. This is what Green was quoted as saying about Diaz being a starter: "He doesn't have quite the deception necessary to turn lineups over two and three and four times right now. That's a challenge for him."