Houston @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 3, 2010 ) Houston 0, San Diego 1
The pressure is squarely on Wade LeBlanc as the San Diego Padres wind up a four-game series with the Houston Astros on Sunday.
That’s because the Padres left-hander is following back-to-back shutout victories over the Astros and looks to help San Diego make it three straight wins to conclude the series.
Starters Mat Latos (Friday) and Kevin Correia (Saturday) had masterful outings against a Houston team that is just 4-39 on the season when scoring three runs or less.
So if LeBlanc can pitch solidly, San Diego will take its chances that it can push across late runs again – the Padres scored three in the eighth on Friday and one in the eighth on Saturday.
LeBlanc has gone three starts without winning and lost his last outing despite giving up just two hits in 6 1/3 innings against Colorado. LeBlanc struck out eight but gave up three runs while dropping to 4-6 on the season.
LeBlanc is just 2-4 at Petco Park despite having a 2.58 earned-run average in nine home starts. His season ERA stands at 3.25. Today’s start marks his first career outing against the Astros.
The Padres reached the midway point of the season with a 48-33 record, which has them on pace for 96 victories.
They could be vying for win No. 49 without first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who was scratched from Saturday’s game because of neck stiffness.
Gonzalez was having shoulder issues earlier in the week and has just one hit in his last 20 at-bats. He leads the Padres with 16 homers and 51 RBIs.
Houston starter Brett Myers undoubtedly won’t mind if Gonzalez is unable to play today. Gonzalez homered in his only career at-bat against Myers.
Myers (5-6) was roughed up by the Milwaukee Brewers in his last outing, giving up four homers. Milwaukee had seven runs and nine hits against Myers.
The poor outing saw Myers’ ERA rise to 3.61. He’s 2-1 lifetime against the Padres with a 2.81 ERA.
Astros first baseman Lance Berkman usually torments the Padres at Petco Park but has struggled mightily over the first three games, going 0-for-11 with five strikeouts. Berkman’s season average is down to .237.
Houston third baseman Chris Johnson went 3-for-3 in Saturday’s loss and now has five multiple-hit games in his last nine outings. Johnson twice had four hits and has gone 16-for-35 (.457) during the streak.
Johnson is hitting .361 in 61 at-bats for the Astros.
San Diego placed right fielder Will Venable (back) on the disabled list. Venable is second on the club with 32 RBIs and has a team-leading 14 steals. He’s tied for second with eight homers, four of them coming since June 20.