The NL West rivals the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers will square off in the opener of a three-game set under the lights Dodger Stadium Friday night. Both clubs have struggled of late with the Dodgers coming off three consecutive shutout losses at AT&T Park, and I like the Padres chances of recording an upset in this match-up.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Padres will hand the ball to Andrew Cashner (1-7, 3.24 ERA) who will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing home-start against the Nats. He was rather solid in his last start away from home though when he conceded just two runs on four hits over seven innings at Arizona. While he's 1-4 in 19 career games (eight starts) against the Dodgers, it's behind a minuscule ERA of 2.22 and I expect Cashner to be able to hold his own tonight as well. The Dodgers will counter with Zack Greinke (5-1, 1.52) who has been dominant all season. He's fared well against the Padres going 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in nine career starts, but might not get much run-support tonight.

2. The Dodgers Struggling Offense - The Dodgers have been shut out in three straight games and have mustered only 12 runs over their last six. Their .219 batting average over the last seven days ranks among the worst marks in the majors.

3. X-Factor - San Diego's Will Middlebrooks is 9-for-26 in his last seven games.

Selection: This is a play on the San Diego Padres +1.5 (8*)