San Diego @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 23, 2010 ) San Diego 5, Tampa Bay 4

The San Diego Padres are probably thrilled at being 13 games above .500.

Given where the Tampa Bay Rays were just 12 games ago, that same record can't look nearly as rosy to them.

Two teams headed in opposite directions face off Thursday afternoon as the Rays entertain the Padres in the conclusion of their three-game interleague series at Tropicana Field. The Padres will be looking for the sweep following a 2-1 victory Tuesday and a 5-4 triumph the following night.

The Padres have won five of their last seven games to open up a 2 1/2-game lead on the San Francisco Giants in the crowded National League West race. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who recently led the division, have now fallen four games back thanks to their current six-game losing skid.

Solid pitching earned San Diego the win in the series opener, and timely hitting helped the Padres prevail on Wednesday. Jerry Hairston, Jr. singled home his younger brother Scott with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning after the Rays had rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.

The victory improved San Diego to 42-29, marking the first time all season they've been 13 games above the .500 mark. They'll have a chance to build on that Thursday, as they send surging left-hander Wade LeBlanc to the hill.

LeBlanc (4-4) is coming off three consecutive quality starts, going 2-0 with in that span. He surrendered a run on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings in his last outing, but earned a no-decision in the Padres' 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The three straight solid showings lowered his ERA to 2.88.

The third-year hurler has never faced the Rays, but pitching at Tropicana Field may not agree with him. LeBlanc has made just one career start indoors, and the result wasn't pretty – he surrendered eight runs in just three innings of a 15-8 loss to the Mariners back on May 21.

Luckily, he'll be facing a Rays team that hasn't hit with any regularity for the past two weeks. Tampa Bay enters Thursday with the same won-lost record as the Padres, but has dropped nine of its last 12 games to slip behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox and into third place in the American League East.

Several Rays hitters have performed below expectations during the cold streak, none more than Evan Longoria. The slugging third baseman is just 7-for-45 over his last 12 games, with a lone home run during that span.

Right-hander Matt Garza (7-5) gets the start for Tampa Bay. The 26-year-old is coming off one of the worst outings of his career, surrendering seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings on the way to a 7-4 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Garza has dropped four of his last six starts after opening the season 5-1. In that time, his ERA has exploded from 2.37 to 4.16, and he has allowed at least one home run in each of his past five outings.