San Diego @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 20, 2011 ) San Diego 5, Boston 14

THE STORY: It didn’t take long for Adrian Gonzalez to remind the punchless San Diego Padres what they are missing. After a memorable first game against his former team, Gonzalez will try to pad his major league-leading RBI total Tuesday when the Boston Red Sox host the last-place Padres, who have lost a season-high six straight. Boston has won 14 of 16, while San Diego has lost nine of 10 and is the only winless team in interleague play (0-7). The light-hitting Padres did get some good news, though. They will face Alfredo Aceves because major league ERA leader Josh Beckett was scratched because of a stomach bug.

TV: 7:10 pm. ET, NESN (Boston), TV 4 (San Diego)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Alfredo Aceves (3-1, 3.30 ERA) vs. Padres RH Mat Latos (4-8. 4.06). Manager Terry Francona announced late Monday night that Beckett, who threw his first career one-hitter against Tampa Bay on Thursday, will not make his scheduled start because of a stomach illness. That paves the way for Aceves to make his fourth start of the season and first since May 31. He last pitched 1 2/3 innings on Friday against Tampa Bay. Aceves has never faced San Diego. Latos has had an up-and-down sophomore campaign after a solid 2010. The 23-year-old righthander has dropped two straight starts after winning three of his previous four outings. He allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 loss to Colorado on Thursday. This will be Latos’ first start against the Red Sox.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (44-28): Remember all the Red Sox fans that were up in arms during the team’s horrid 2-10 start? They are all smiling now. Boston has been bludgeoning teams, outscoring the opposition 128-58 over the last 16 games. Even a hamstring injury that landed left fielder Carl Crawford on the disabled list hasn’t slowed the Red Sox. Gonzalez, who batted twice in a 10-run seventh inning Monday, leads the majors in average (.353) and RBIs (67). In addition, David Ortiz had an RBI single after a 14-pitch at bat to extend his home hitting streak to 14 games – one shy of his career high.

ABOUT THE PADRES (30-44): San Diego is mired in the National League West cellar despite the fact that it entered Monday's opener with the third-best ERA in baseball (3.24). The problem is San Diego’s lineup, which doesn’t invoke fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers (it has averaged 2.7 runs over the last 31 games). Furthermore, despite recording 13 hits Monday, the Padres still have the second-worst team average in the majors (.233). The Padres have lost nine straight interleague games.

FINAL PITCH: Gonzalez had 35 RBIs at this time last season while playing in San Diego's cavernous Petco Park.