Arizona @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 17, 2010 ) Arizona 5, San Diego 8
The San Diego Padres have come back from the All-Star break swinging some hot bats and look to continue that trend Sunday when they try to complete a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Padres have scored 20 runs in the first two games of the series. San Diego hit four home runs in an 8-5 victory over Arizona on Saturday and had a pair of blasts in a 12-1 rout to open the series on Friday.
Adrian Gonzalez has homered in both games since the All-Star break and has 20 on the season. Gonzalez, who leads the team with 59 RBIs, is the third Padre to hit 20 homers five times. Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and Nate Colbert are the other two.
San Diego has won three straight and leads San Francisco by 3 1/2 games in the National League West Division standings.
The recent power surge and performance by the offense is a welcome change from the first half of the season, when the pitching staff carried the team much of the time. The Padres' team ERA of 3.22 leads the majors and they have allowed the second-fewest number of hits in baseball behind the New York Yankees.
The Padres still rank toward the bottom in home runs and runs scored, but at least are showing signs of life, led by Gonzalez, who will not be a prized pickup for another team at the trade deadline like many had thought going into the season.
Instead the Padres will look to add a bat in support of their slugging first baseman, who is tied for fifth in the National League in home runs and is among the leaders in RBIs as well.
Kevin Correia (5-6, 5.26 ERA) takes the mound today for San Diego. He will be looking for the same run support the Padres offense has been providing the other starters of late.
Correia is winless since May 31 and is 0-2 in his last seven outings.
Arizona has lost three straight and is just 10-24 against the NL West.
Edwin Jackson (6-7, 4.92) gets the start for the Diamondbacks. Jackson had won three straight starts, including a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 25, before suffering a loss to the Chicago Cubs on July 7.
Jackson is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.31 in six career games against the Padres, including four starts.