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Padres-Giants Preview

Jul 12, 2009 - 6:14 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

San Diego (35-51) at San Francisco (48-38), 4:05 p.m. EDT

Pablo Sandoval won't be a part of the NL All-Star squad in St. Louis, but the San Francisco Giants third baseman has certainly looked like he should be this weekend against the San Diego Padres.

The same can be said for the San Francisco pitching staff.

Behind Sandoval's hitting and the team's dominant pitching, the Giants are on the verge of a four-game sweep of their NL West rivals, and they'll look to deal the Padres their eighth consecutive loss Sunday.

San Francisco (49-38) may have been the biggest surprise in baseball during the first half, riding outstanding pitching and an improving lineup to the wild-card lead.

Tim Lincecum didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning Thursday and Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter Friday. All-Star Matt Cain didn't get a chance to join them in the win column Saturday, leaving after 1 2-3 innings with a bruised elbow after being hit by a line drive.

San Francisco's bullpen picked up the slack, as Justin Miller and four others gave up one run the rest of the way and Sandoval hit a fourth-inning homer in a 2-1 victory.

"The starting staff has taken away innings from us all year in a very positive way so any time we can go out there and try to perform and pick up the team, we're definitely up to the challenge," said Miller, whose ERA dropped to 1.98. "It's just an amazing staff to be around. We've got Cy Youngs, we've got 300-game winners so it's easy to overlook the bullpen."

Sandoval has emerged as San Francisco's top offensive player, and he's been particularly hot at home lately. The switch hitter is batting .400 (12 for 30) with four homers and 15 RBIs in his last eight games at AT&T Park, and he is 6 for 11 with two homers and seven RBIs in this series.

One of the Giants' three former Cy Young Award winners takes the mound Sunday as San Francisco looks to go 8-2 on its homestand.

Barry Zito (5-8, 4.43 ERA) has mostly struggled during his first three seasons with the Giants, but in his latest start, showed the dominant form from his days with Oakland. He gave up four hits over 8 1-3 innings and struck out six Tuesday in a 3-0 win over Florida, his best outing since signing a $126 million contract with San Francisco in 2007.

"I've got four years left on this deal after this," said Zito, 2-3 with a 3.27 ERA at home. "I want more than anything to let my potential come through, and show and let myself know, more importantly than others, that I'm still capable of throwing up effective outings."

Zito is 0-2 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts against the Padres this season.

San Diego will counter with former Giant Kevin Correia (5-7, 4.58) as it tries to avoid losing eight in a row for the first time since June 21-29, 2008.

Correia, who will make his first start at AT&T Park as a Padre, has faced the Giants once. He gave up six hits over 6 1-3 innings of a 3-2 win May 21 and didn't get the decision.

Correia gave up four runs - two earned - over six innings Tuesday in a 4-3 loss at Arizona.