San Francisco @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2011 ) San Francisco 3, San Diego 11
THE STORY: The San Diego Padres finally broke out of an offensive slumber and will look for a second straight victory on Sunday when they conclude a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants. The Padres posted an 11-3 victory on Saturday to break a season-high seven-game losing streak. San Diego had scored just five runs over its previous six games and Saturday’s outburst was its best showing since scoring 11 runs against the Atlanta Braves on June 24. San Francisco had a four-game winning streak snapped and saw its lead in the National League West drop to 3 1/2 games over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants had defeated San Diego four consecutive times prior to being routed on Saturday.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CSBA (San Francisco), Ch4 (San Diego).
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Matt Cain (8-5, 3.06 ERA) vs. Padres RH Mat Latos (5-10, 4.04 ERA)
Cain has won five of his past six decisions with the lone loss coming when he allowed five runs in seven innings against the Padres on July 5. He rebounded to defeat the New York Mets with six shutout innings of five-hit ball in his final start before the All-Star break. Cain has allowed just one homer over his last nine starts. He is 5-10 with a 3.58 ERA in 24 career outings against San Diego. Ryan Ludwick is batting .400 with two homers in 15 career at-bats against Cain.
Latos has dropped four of his last five decisions and has already matched last season’s loss total. He pitched superbly in his last outing while suffering a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Latos allowed one run and five hits in 7 1/3 innings. Just like Cain, Latos has given up just one homer in his last nine outings. He hasn’t pitched against the Giants this season and is 2-2 with a 2.37 ERA in six career starts versus San Francisco. Aubrey Huff is batting just .222 in 18 career at-bats against Latos.
ABOUT THE PADRES (41-54): Saturday’s 11-run splurge was a pleasing development. The Padres had scored just 22 runs in 12 July games prior to the uprising. Jesus Guzman homered and had a career-best four RBIs. Guzman had four RBIs in 44 at-bats entering the contest. Orlando Hudson added a three-run homer. Third baseman Chase Headley didn’t play and the Padres are hoping their top hitter doesn’t need a stint on the disabled list. Headley, who is hitting .300, left in the first inning of Friday’s game with a strained right calf. The previous night, he left the game with an ankle injury. Alberto Gonzalez started Saturday’s game and Logan Forsythe was recalled from Triple-A Tucson to give the team an extra infielder.
ABOUT THE GIANTS (54-41): San Francisco matched a season-high for runs allowed in Saturday’s loss. The Giants also permitted 11 to the Chicago Cubs on May 13. The loss was just the second in eight games for the Giants. San Francisco had defeated San Diego four straight times. The Giants struggled against Padres lefthander Cory Luebke while losing for only the seventh time in 25 decisions against southpaws this season. Miguel Tejada went 2-for-4 with a homer for his fourth multi-hit game of the month. Tejada is batting .361 in July. Nate Schierholtz had an eight-game hitting streak snapped. Schierholtz is 2-for-13 over the last three contests.
FINAL PITCH: The Padres hit two homers Saturday to end a streak of 56 straight games without hitting multiple homers. It was the longest streak since the Cleveland Indians went 63 games without multiple homers in 1983