Houston @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2010 ) San Diego 3, Houston 4

The calendar now says July, and there’s still a surprise team atop the National League West.

The San Diego Padres enter the month with a three-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, a development few people considered possible three short months ago.

But the Padres, who open a four-game home series against the Houston Astros on Thursday, have displayed no signs of wilting.

San Diego uses pitching, defense and speed to outplay opponents and cover up a lack of hitting prowess. The formula is working well for the Padres (46-32), who own the best record in the National League.

The starting pitching has been solid and the relief trio of Heath Bell (21 saves), Luke Gregerson (51 strikeouts, four walks and 1.60 earned-run average in 39 1/3 innings) and Mike Adams (2.19 ERA) has been exceptional.

Defensively, the Padres have committed just 32 errors. Center fielder Tony Gwynn Jr. is one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball and second baseman David Eckstein hasn’t made an error in 295 chances. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez is a two-time Gold Glove winner.

San Diego has 68 stolen bases. Right fielder Will Venable has a team-leading 14, Gwynn has 13 and third baseman Chase Headley 11.

The manufacturing of runs has been important with two-time All-Star Gonzalez standing alone as the only feared bat in the lineup. Gonzalez has 16 homers and 51 RBIs to go along with a team-best .302 average.

The Padres lead the majors with a 3.11 ERA and have four starters with an ERA of 3.25 or lower, including Jon Garland, who starts the opener against Houston.

Garland was signed as a free agent in the offseason and is 8-5 with a 3.13 ERA. The signing proved prudent with veteran Chris Young sidelined with shoulder woes.

Garland has provided leadership to rotation youngsters Mat Latos (8-4, 2.85), Clayton Richard (5-4, 2.75) and Wade LeBlanc (4-6, 3.25). He has won his last two starts, and gave up one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings against the Florida Marlins in his last outing.

Garland beat the Astros in Houston on May 8 when he threw seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits. He’s 3-1 lifetime with a 3.00 ERA in six career outings against the Astros.

Brian Moehler (1-4, 5.62) starts for the Astros. Moehler notched his first win of the season in his last start when he gave up two earned runs in five innings against the Texas Rangers.

Moehler is 2-1 with a 3.18 in nine appearances (five starts) against the Padres.

Astros third baseman Chris Johnson is swinging a hot bat and had his second four-hit game in five days when he went 4-for-4 with two RBIs against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Johnson was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on June 22 and has batted .414 (12-for-29) with six RBIs in seven games.

Outfielder Scott Hairston is surging for the Padres. Hairston had four RBIs against Colorado on both Monday and Wednesday, and finished 5-for-13 with a homer and eight RBIs in the three-game series.