Padres, Dodgers resume set at Chavez Ravine

Sep 12, 2007, 15:25 GMT

- The NL wild card-leading San Diego Padres will resume a three-game series with the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers this evening at Chavez Ravine.

San Diego is 2 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the wild card standings and 2 1/2 games behind Arizona in the NL West division. The Padres posted their second win in three games with Tuesday's 9-4 victory over LA, as Brian Giles, Khalil Greene and Kevin Kouzmanoff each hit home runs and ended with two RBI.

Padres ace Jake Peavy improved to 9-1 in 18 career starts against the Dodgers and 3-0 this season. The National League Cy Young Award candidate is 7-0 over his last 12 starts against NL West opponents after giving up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.

Justin Germano will try to have the same success when he takes the mound on Wednesday night. Germano is 7-9 with a 4.38 ERA in 22 starts this season, but has dropped back-to-back starts and is 1-6 over the past 10 outings. Germano allowed five runs and six hits in three innings of a 10-4 loss at Colorado on September 7.

The right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.16 earned run average in four career games (three starts) against Los Angeles. Germano is 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers this season.

Los Angeles has dropped two in a row and three of its last four games, including last night's five-run loss at Dodger Stadium. James Loney homered and finished 3-for-5 and Jeff Kent also collected three hits and drove in a run for the Dodgers, who are 3 1/2 games behind San Diego in the wild card standings. Ching-Lung Hu also homered for his first major league hit as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers on Wednesday will be Derek Lowe, who is 11-12 with a 3.80 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) this season. Lowe is 0-1 in two starts since a three-game winning streak, and did not record a decision the last time out on September 6 at Chicago. Lowe allowed three runs in six frames of a 7-4 victory at Wrigley Field.

The righty is 3-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres, and 1-1 with a 5.30 earned run average in three appearances against them in 2007.

San Diego is 10-6 against the Dodgers this season and 23-11 in the last 34 encounters with Los Angeles.

© 2007 The Sports Network