Chicago @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 5, San Diego 2
The injury-riddled Chris Young couldn’t be in a bigger spot.
Young takes the mound Wednesday night at Petco Park with little room for error as the listless San Diego Padres play the third of four games against the Chicago Cubs.
The Padres’ scoring woes continued in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Chicago. Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to tie the game at 2-2 and snap a 20-inning scoreless drought, but that blast couldn’t prevent a third straight loss. The club has scored just 16 runs in its last seven games.
San Diego (87-70) is two games behind the San Francisco Giants (89-68) in the National League West and 1 ½ games back of the Atlanta Braves (89-69) in the wild card race.
After San Diego completes this four-game stand with Chicago, it travels to San Francisco for the final three games of the season. The Giants have two games left with the Arizona Diamondbacks before the showdown, and the Braves have one game left with the Florida Marlins before closing with three games at home against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Since making 30 starts in three straight seasons from 2005-07, Young (1-0, 1.20 ERA) has pitched only 38 times the last three years because of myriad injuries. The 6-foot-10 Young has pitched just three times this season due to right shoulder surgery on August 2009.
Young tossed six scoreless frames on Opening Day but immediately went on the disabled list with shoulder soreness and didn’t return until Sept. 18. Young survived that start, allowing a run and three hits in four innings as San Diego posted an 8-4 triumph against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He came back six days later with five more solid frames as San Diego scored late to pull out a 4-3 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. The 31-year-old yielded a run and three hits in five frames in that contest. Now he will face a third pressurized start with a tender shoulder, this time against the Cubs.
Young has pitched great at Petco, going 16-11 with a 2.90 ERA in 44 career starts. He is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in six starts against Chicago.
Chicago will send Randy Wells (8-13, 4.28 ERA) to the mound in search of a third great start in this series.
Carlos Zambrano pitched seven scoreless frames in the opener and Ryan Dempster yielded just two runs in seven frames on Tuesday night. Both pitchers were helped by Alfonso Soriano, who doubled and scored the lone run in Monday’s 1-0 victory. He drilled two homers Tuesday night.
The 28-year-old Wells tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in a 2-0 triumph over the Giants last Wednesday and yielded just a run and five hits over eight frames in a 7-2 victory at St. Louis on Sept. 14.
Wells hooked up with San Diego’s Jon Garland in a pitching duel in Chicago on Aug. 17, a 1-0 Padres win. The right-hander surrendered a run and three hits in seven innings in that contest. Garland will pitch the finale of the series Thursday.