Nestor Cortes struck out three batters in his return last week, but he flashed that strikeout upside in his final rehab start, when striking out nine batters. Of course that's AAA level so we want to be realistic when weighing those numbers but Cortes has shown strikeout upside in MLB level too. He struck out nine batters on four different occasions last year and already has a 6+ Ks performance this year from just three starts. Against a Giants team that's striking out at the highest rate in MLB against lefties since the start of July, I'm tabbing him for a 5th strikeout at least here. Plus, the workload should be increasing after 76 pitches across nearly five innings last time out. Laddering 6,7,8 Ks.

The San Francisco Giants are just 1-9 post All Star break at home. A big reason for their home losses has been their offense, as they are averaging just two runs per game during their 1-9 home streak. Low scoring leaves the door open for one inning of production as the Padres used a three run seventh Monday to gain a victory. Take the Padres on the moneyline.