San Diego @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2011 ) San Diego 8, Colorado 2

THE STORY: San Diego goes for its fourth win in the last five games Tuesday night when it hosts Colorado in the second game of a three-game series. The Padres rolled to an 8-2 victory in Monday's opener, riding seven one-hit innings from Cory Luebke to the win. Aaron Cunningham and Cameron Maybin both hit two-run homers for San Diego. The Rockies have lost five consecutive games.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, Channel 4 (San Diego), ROOT Sports (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Mat Latos (7-14, 3.73 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jhoulys Chacin (11-12, 3.73 ERA)

Latos has allowed more than three runs just once in his last 15 starts and hasn't yielded more than four since April, but he has been crippled by a lack of run support from the Padres' offense, going just 1-3 over his last seven outings. His lone win during that span came Sept. 4 against the Rockies, when he struck out eight over seven innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Colorado SS Troy Tulowitzki is 1-for-12 against Latos.

The streaky Chacin has struggled lately, yielding 14 runs (11 earned) over his last 16 innings. Control has been a problem during that stretch — Chacin has walked 11 batters and struck out just 10, failing to finish the sixth inning in any of his last three starts. He pitched well in a June 15 win over the Padres, allowing one run on just three hits in six innings. San Diego hitters are a combined 7-for-37 (.189) against Chacin.

ABOUT THE PADRES (66-88): San Diego has shown signs of life in the past week, winning three of four games after winning just three of its previous 20. Pitching has been a strong suit for most of the season for the Padres, who rank fourth in the major leagues in ERA, but the offense has failed to hold up its end of the bargain. San Diego, which has the lowest batting average in the National League and ranks 28th in the majors with 569 runs, had scored just nine runs over five games before erupting for eight on Monday.

ABOUT THE ROCKIES (70-83): Colorado's pitching staff ranks near the bottom of the major leagues in nearly every category, spoiling the year for a lineup that has been among the most productive in the National League all season. The Rockies are third in the National League with 696 runs scored despite currently missing the services of their top three hitters. SS Tulowitzki (hip), 1B Todd Helton (back) and LF Carlos Gonzalez (wrist) are not expected back before the end of the series.

FINAL PITCH: Monday's victory for San Diego was just the third in the team's last nine games against Colorado.