Kansas City @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 28, 2011 ) Kansas City 2, San Diego 4

THE STORY: The surging San Diego Padres look for a series sweep Wednesday when they face the visiting Kansas City Royals. The Padres have won six of seven, while the Royals are still trying to figure out Petco Park, which is the only active ballpark where the Royals have played but never won. They are 0-6 at Petco after Tuesday’s loss.

TV: 3:35 p.m. ET, No TV

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals LH Bruce Chen (4-1, 3.88 ERA) at Padres RH Tim Stauffer (3-5, 3.09 ERA)

Making his first start since May 5, Chen allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings against the Cubs last Friday. The Royals are 7-2 in Chen’s last nine starts. Stauffer has gone 2-1 with a 0.93 ERA and 27 strikeouts against four walks over his last four starts spanning 29 innings. The Padres are 2-5 in Stauffer’s last seven starts against a team with a losing record.

ABOUT THE ROYALS (33-47): Rookie Danny Duffy will start Friday against the Rockies, with Kyle Davies returning from the disabled list to start Saturday. Manager Ned Yost said he’s going to a six-man rotation at least until the All-Star break after Duffy allowed two runs over seven innings against the Cubs last Saturday. Starting pitcher Felipe Paulino continues to post impressive strikeout numbers, but it’s still debatable whether he’ll stick in the rotation. Paulino gave up 11 hits while striking out seven and throwing 118 pitches over seven innings on Tuesday. He once looked like a future star with Houston before he was later waived by Colorado. Kansas City manager Ned Yost remains high on Paulino, so he’ll likely stick in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Jeff Francoeur is going to need a huge last-minute surge in the All-Star voting in order to be selected as a starting outfielder. He was 12th among American League outfielders in the latest update. Voting ends Thursday night.

ABOUT THE PADRES (36-45): Kyle Blanks blasted his sixth home run in 19 games at Triple-A Tucson on Tuesday night. Blanks is hitting .397 in 72 at-bats for Tucson, and there’s a chance he could be called up to start in left field if Ryan Ludwick is traded. General manager Jed Hoyer has all but guaranteed Ludwick will be moved before the trade deadline since he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year. Catcher Nick Hundley’s MRI on his sore right elbow revealed no structural damage, and he could return as early as Friday. Closer Heath Bell is doing nothing to hurt his trade value. He converted his 15th straight save opportunity Tuesday and has now converted 56 of his last 57 save opportunities. Cameron Maybin went 3-for-3 with a stolen base and two runs scored Tuesday, and he has four multi-hit games in his last seven. Not coincidentally, the Padres are playing their best baseball all season with a healthy and productive Maybin in the lineup.

FINAL PITCH: The Padres are 12-27 in their last 39 interleague home games.