San Diego @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 24, 2010 ) San Diego 9, Pittsburgh 2

The San Diego Padres are already assured of another successful trip to Pittsburgh.

Now they look to finish off a sweep of the Pirates on Sunday when the teams wrap up a three-game set at PNC Park. San Diego has outscored Pittsburgh 14-5 in winning the first two games of the series and the Padres can finish their six-game road trip with a winning record Sunday heading into a key series with National League West Division rival Los Angeles that starts Tuesday. It would be no surprise if San Diego does pull off the sweep as the Padres have turned PNC Park into a home away from home. The Padres have now won 10 straight series at PNC Park and are 23-9 there overall.
Having won seven of their last nine games, the Padres have been getting strong pitching all around and just enough offense to make it stand most nights. Kevin Correia and Mat Latos started the first two games of the Pirates series and combined to allow five runs in 12 innings while the San Diego bullpen has turned in three scoreless innings of relief in each of the first two games. Wade LeBlanc (4-8, 3.28 ERA) gets the start for San Diego and could use a win. LeBlanc has dropped his last four decisions and is winless since June 12. His victory drought spans six starts and he has yielded four runs or less in all of them, including one run twice. LeBlanc has been the victim of a listless San Diego offense in a number of his starts as he has received less than two runs of run support in eight of 17 starts. Pittsburgh is in a victory drought of its own, having lost three straight and 11 of 15 overall. Looking to halt Pittsburgh's most recent slide is starter Brad Lincoln (1-3, 6.29). Lincoln has struggled lately, allowing five runs or more in five of his last 10 starts. The fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft, Lincoln is coming off a rough outing in his last start as he yielded seven runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.