A pair of lefties and NL West contenders square off in the first game of a weekend series with major playoff implications Friday night at 10:15 p.m. ET in San Francisco’s AT&T Park.

The NL West-leading Padres have overcame a light hitting offense by riding quality starting pitching and the best bullpen in baseball. They have allowed the fewest runs in the majors this season.

San Diego seems built around the same model as San Francisco has the past couple years with pitching and defense taking precedent over offense. The Giants have allowed 427 runs this season, second best in baseball behind San Diego. Runs will likely be few and far between in this series even without the help of the cavernous Petco Park.

The reason San Diego has led the NL West for the better part of the summer is due in large part to its dominance over the Giants. The Padres have won seven of eight over San Francisco including three at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

MLB Predictions: Pitching matchup
Clayton Richard (LHP, 9-5, 3.83) vs. Jonathan Sanchez (LHP, 8-7, 3.55 ERA)
Of the San Diego’s seven wins against the Giants this season, Richard was on the hill for three of them. He was sensational against the Giants, posting a 2-0 record with a no decision, pitching a combined 20 1/3 innings and allowing only four runs in the starts.

Sanchez also has three starts this season against the opposition, but he only has an 0-2 record to show for it despite being just as dominant as Richard for the most part. In his first two starts against San Diego, Sanchez pitched a combined 15 innings and allowed two earned runs. He was tagged for four earned runs in six innings in his third game against the Padres.

Sanchez is coming off a rocky start in Atlanta where he did not make it past the fourth inning. It was his third early exit since July 18. Richard is in the same boat, after a rough outing in Arizona where he was pulled after 3 2/3 innings. Richard’s ERA in his last seven starts is 6.53. A matchup against the Giants, who Richard has dominated this year, might be just what the leftie needs to snap out of this slump. Richards has also had great success against the NL West and against teams with a winning record. The Padres are 7-1 in his last eight starts against division opponents and they are 11-2 in his last 13 starts vs. a team with a winning record.

Padres vs.  Giants Betting Odds
The Giants are listed as -130 and the underdog Padres are +110. The total is 7.5 with an ‘over’ paying +105. Odds are courtesy of BetUS.

Padres vs.  Giants Betting Trends
San Diego is 7-1 vs. San Francisco this season (3-0 at San Francisco)
San Francisco is 19-22 against the NL West
San Diego is 24-20 against the NL West
San Diego is 8-3 in its last 11 games vs. a left-handed starter
San Francisco is 8-1 in its last nine games vs. a left-handed starter
‘Over’ is 5-0 in Richard’s last five road starters
‘Over’ is 9-1-1 in Richard’s last 11 starts
‘Over’ is 13-2-1 in Sanchez’s last 16 starts

Padres vs.  Giants Betting Predictions
Despite San Diego’s dominance in this season series, the teams are pretty evenly matched as are Friday night’s starting pitchers. San Diego compiled its 7-1 record against San Francisco back in April and May. Both are different teams now in mid-August. There is very little value on each team as this game is truly a tossup. The play here is the ‘over,’ considering both pitchers rocky outings over the last month and both teams success against left-handed pitching.

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