San Diego @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( May 7, 2010 ) San Diego 7, Houston 0
With Jake Peavy no longer around, Chris Young planted on the disabled list and a bunch of youngsters sitting in the rotation, the San Diego Padres don’t possess what some would consider to be a team ace.
And while none of the current five members of the team’s staff qualify for the title, Jon Garland has been about as close as it gets for the Padres.
An afterthought during the offseason, Garland settled for a one-year contract to pitch in his native Southern California, and it has proven to be a perfect match.
Garland will be eying his fourth consecutive win as he takes the mound on Saturday in the second of a three-game set against the Houston Astros.
San Diego received little resistance in Friday’s opener, securing a 7-0 victory thanks in large part to starter Mat Latos, who pitched eight shutout innings and struck out a career-high nine batters.
Scott Hairston belted a pair of home runs as the Padres snapped a five-game losing skid at Minute Maid Park. Coupled with a loss by the San Francisco Giants, San Diego regained control of first place in the National League West by half a game.
Houston, meanwhile, was back to its losing ways in suffering its fifth shutout of the campaign. The Astros, who already own separate eight-game losing streaks, have dropped 11 of 12 by averaging 1.82 runs during that time.
Houston could be in for a challenge in scoring against Garland, who has allowed a paltry two earned runs over his previous four starts. He is currently 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA.
After opening the year with consecutive defeats, the right-hander has turned the corner. He bested Milwaukee on Sunday by scattering three hits over seven innings despite walking five.
As good as Garland has been of late, Houston starter Felipe Paulino has been equally bad.
Paulino lost his fourth straight start and fell to 0-4 with a 5.53 ERA through five outings. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, the left-hander allowed four runs on five hits in six innings
Paulino has struggled with his command at times, striking out 23 and walking 18 in 27 2/3 innings.
Much of Houston’s deficiencies can be linked to a dismal offense that ranks last in the NL in batting average (.233), runs (80) and on-base percentage (.279).
The Astros managed a meager three hits on Friday and Kaz Matsui’s ninth-inning double was their lone extra-base hit of the game.