That kind of attrition matters more in August than it did in April, with both clubs squeezed into crowded wild-card fields. San Diego sits second in the NL West and holds its own wild-card position; Minnesota is clinging to the American League's last wild-card spot while staring down a brutal run of games against AL Central rivals coming later this month. Neither team has margin left for a lost pitching staff, let alone a lost week.
Momentum swung firmly toward the Padres already. San Diego handled Minnesota 6-2 in Saturday's series opener, part of a stretch where they've won 3 of their last 5. The Twins, meanwhile, are still riding the high of a series sweep of the first-place Atlanta Braves at Target Field before dropping a game to the Phillies and now the opener of this set in San Diego.
Ober will need a longer leash than he got last time out, when he was pulled after just 4.1 innings against Atlanta despite a clean line. Buehler gets to pitch in front of a home crowd with a bullpen that's at least marginally fresher than Minnesota's, after San Diego leaned on relievers to close out Saturday's win. Whichever staff holds up better with what it has left probably has the better shot at making this stretch of August count.