San Diego @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2010 ) San Diego 9, Chi. Cubs 5
The San Diego Padres continue to roll along and the Chicago Cubs keep finding new ways to lose.
These two clubs will be back at it Tuesday night following San Diego’s 9-5 win on Monday.
Jon Garland gets the ball for the Padres (70-47). He’s just another San Diego starter working on a solid season, posting a 3.41 ERA to go along with his 11-8 record.
Garland is coming off a six-inning shutout performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last outing, but he did walk four before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Control issues have been a running theme for Garland this year – his strikeout-to-walk ratio stands at 97-to-65.
The Cubs (50-69) counter with the unpredictable Randy Wells. The 6-foot-5 right-hander started off the season 3-0 with two no-decisions, but didn’t get into the win column again until July 3.
Wells allowed at least six runs on five occasions this season - including twice in his last three outings.
The Padres cranked out 15 hits in Monday’s win as they chased Tom Gorzelanny after 6 1/3 innings. They were up 5-0 at that point, but the bullpen made the game a lot more interesting after starter Kevin Correia hit the showers. For the record, Correia threw six innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits while striking out five.
San Diego sent out five more relievers after Correia left. Luke Gregerson and Ernesto Frieri ended up on the hook for all of Chicago’s five runs, allowing the Cubs to pull within two before the Padres added a couple more insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Miguel Tejada led the offensive charge, going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. The veteran third baseman now has nine hits and four RBIs in his last three games and is hitting .276 on the season with eight home runs and 41 RBIs.
Chris Denorfia also chipped in with three hits, two runs and two RBIs on Monday.
The loss dropped Chicago to 27-33 at home this season and the club is now in full-out spoiler mode, 17 1/2 games off the pace in the NL Central.
San Diego holds a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants atop the NL West.