SAN DIEGO -- As Philadelphia Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoffs record attests, he has pitched in tough luck most of the 2016 season.Eickhoff, 26, is 6-12 despite a 3.68 ERA in 22 starts.His won-loss is really misleading, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said recently. We havent consistently gotten him a lot of runs and hes lost a lot of close decisions.But Eickhoff could be catching a break Sunday when hes matched against Padres right-hander Jarred Cosart in the rubber match of a three-game series at Petco Park.There is this triple whammy hanging over the Padres this season. The Padres have struggled on Sundays (3-14), in day games (10-25) and in final games of series (8-27).And all three of the Padres problems are in play Sunday as they end a six-game homestand.The Padres have fared better recently in series finales (5-4 in the last nine) and day games (4-5). But they have made little gains on Sunday.I dont know what it is, Padres manager Andy Green said recently of the triple whammy.But Im pretty sure its most coincidence.Plus some lopsided pitching matchups, which it appears there is another one Sunday afternoon.As Mackanin said, Eickhoff deserves better. He has allowed only 129 hits in 132 innings. With a 112-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio, opponents have hit only .258 against him.And the Padres didnt come close to faring that well when Eickhoff faced them on April 13 in Philadelphia. Eickhoff shut out the Padres on four hits in seven innings and picked up the win in his only previous start against San Diego. He didnt walk a batter and had nine strikeouts.In Eickhoffs two most recent starts, he has allowed one run and seven hits in 12 innings.Meanwhile, Cosart will be making his second start as a Padre. He went only 3 1/3 innings in his first outing, didnt allow a run and gave up only one hit. But he issued six walks and threw 77 pitches, of which only 34 were strikes.We like the stuff, Green said of the 26-year-old right-hander acquired in the July 29 trade that sent right-hander Andrew Cashner to the Marlins. The pitches are there, he just needs to command what he has.Cosart made four starts earlier in the season with the Marlins, although he was with Triple-A New Orleans when the trade was completed. Cosart was 0-1 with the Marlins with a 5.95 ERA. But during the final five starts of 2015, he was 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA.Starting pitching has become a major concern for the Padres. Short starts have been taxing the bullpen, which explains why the team is carrying eight relievers and Saturday replaced one veteran left-handed reliever (Matt Thornton) with another (Clayton Richard).Thornton is a one-inning pitcher. Richard can work longer and could spot start between now and the end of the season if the Padres need rotation help and Tyson Ross isnt available around Sept. 1 as expected. Craig Biggio Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Lance Mccullers Jr. Astros Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. https://www.cheapastros.com/623o-doug-rader-jersey-astros.html . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Mike Scott Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Astros Jerseys China . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- As Ken Griffey Jr. prepares to enter the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot inductee, hes throwing his endorsement behind another left-handed slugger who played for the Seattle Mariners organization in the mid-1990s.Griffey said that Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who broke into professional ball in Seattles farm system under the name David Arias from 1994 to 1996, absolutely merits a place in Cooperstown when he appears on the ballot five years after his retirement this fall.I got a chance to see him young, Griffey said at a news conference Saturday. He wasnt Big Papi. He was Thin Papi at that time. To watch him do the things hes done over the years, hes become one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball. Hes the one guy where you say, If were up by two, lets just walk him and go for the next guy. Hes got a chance to put a team up by three real quick.Hes done an incredible job in that city. Do I think hes a Hall of Famer? Absolutely. Just look at the numbers hes put up: Three (World Series) titles, and the list of his accomplishments on the field goes on. You cant take that away from him.Ortiz, 40, has announced that he will retire at the end of this season. He has 10 All-Star appearances on his resume and ranks 19th in MLB history with 5527 home runs and 23rd in RBIs with 1,720.ddddddddddddHis Hall of Fame candidacy is likely to spark debate because hes made 1,952 career starts at DH and only 264 starts at first base.Ortiz also has been the subject of PED speculation since a 2009 New York Times report that said he tested positive for steroids in 2003, when MLB was conducting anonymous survey testing as a step toward random drug testing in the game.Mike Piazza, who will enter the Hall of Fame with Griffey on Sunday, offered a more muted endorsement of Ortiz.Piazza spent four years on the ballot while dealing with steroid speculation before making it to Cooperstown with 83 percent of the vote.I think David Ortiz is one of the most charismatic players to come along in a long time, Piazza said. Putting his numbers aside, I think hes a great guy. Hes great for the city. Hes obviously very colorful and fun to watch.I agree with Kenny, but I also believe theres a process that you have to respect. I know there are going to be debates out there on numbers and everything. Not one size fits all. Its really an individual choice. You just have to respect the process and let it play itself out. ' ' '