Pittsburgh @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 1, San Diego 4
In need of another threat in their lineup, the San Diego Padres swung a deadline deal, acquiring Ryan Ludwick from St. Louis.
Ludwick’s tenure with his new club had been rocky at best through his first eight games in a Padres uniform as he batted a paltry .179 with two RBIs.
But Ludwick and the Padres are hoping that he turned the corner for good following Tuesday’s two homer outing in San Diego’s 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Padres will be eying their eighth consecutive triumph over Pittsburgh when the teams battle in the second of a three-game set on Wednesday at Petco Park.
Ludwick’s homers were his 12th and 13th of the season and snapped a 22-game homerless drought. In the process it helped San Diego gain ground in the National League West, moving two games clear of San Francisco.
Hoping for some of that offensive support is Kevin Correia (8-7, 4.81 ERA), who will be eying his fourth win in five starts when he takes the ball on Wednesday.
In his last outing, the right-hander tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball, scattering four hits in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Correia will face the Pirates for the second time this year, recording a win with six strong innings on July 23. For his career, he is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in seven appearances - four starts - versus Pittsburgh.
San Diego closer Heath Bell locked down his 32th save in the teams’ opener, his 18th straight save conversion. He has blown only three save opportunities on the season.
James McDonald’s first start with the Pirates was a success. Now he’ll try to duplicate that performance.
McDonald (1-1, 4.61 ERA), who was acquired from the Dodgers in a trade involving reliever Octavio Dotel, tossed six shutout innings against Colorado on Thursday. He allowed just four hits and struck out a career-best eight batters against one walk.
The start was only the second of the season for McDonald, who appeared in four games with the Dodgers after making 45 appearances a year prior.
The 25-year-old right-hander has faced San Diego four times in his career, including one start. He is winless with a 7.71 ERA in that span.
Pedro Alvarez drove in the Pirates’ lone run with a single in Tuesday’s loss, giving the rookie third baseman 10 RBIs over his last six games.