• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rockies-Padres Preview

Jul 15, 2009 - 6:23 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Colorado (47-41) at San Diego (36-52), 10:05 p.m. EDT

Colorado Rockies hurler Aaron Cook has had little trouble at San Diego in recent years. This edition of the Padres seems to be in no position to finally challenge him.

Coming off the All-Star break with high hopes for a playoff push, the Rockies turn to Cook to continue his road success against the Padres in the opener of a four-game series Thursday night.

Cook (8-3, 3.98 ERA) has played a significant role in the Rockies' recent success, helping a rotation that has been able to go deep into games.

The right-hander, though, entered the All-Star break after a shaky outing, surrendering five runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings of Colorado's 7-6 win over Atlanta last Thursday. He's been 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his previous six outings.

The sinkerballer has been outstanding in his last eight starts at San Diego, going 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA. He didn't earn a win there May 5 despite pitching eight strong innings, allowing one run and five hits as the Rockies (47-41) lost 2-1 in 10 innings.

Cook is 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 22 appearances - 20 starts - lifetime versus the Padres (36-52). He'll be facing a San Diego team that was no-hit by San Francisco's Jonathan Sanchez on Friday night and averaged 2.9 runs during a season-high seven-game losing streak before a 10-4 victory over the Giants on Sunday.

Colorado, meanwhile, has scored seven runs or more in three of its last five games, including an 8-7 win over Atlanta on Sunday to enter the All-Star break on a high note.

All-Star right fielder Brad Hawpe won Sunday's game with a double in the ninth. Hawpe, who went 0 for 2 in the NL's 4-3 loss Tuesday night, leads the majors with 33 two-out RBIs.

He's been one of the best hitters on a team that has climbed back into the postseason hunt with a 29-13 record since manager Jim Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle. The Rockies are nine games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, but just two back of San Francisco in the wild-card race.

"I personally feel very strong there's more to come," Tracy said.

San Diego is in desperate need of a spark after losing 21 of its last 29 games. The Padres' last contest may have been a positive sign, as they finished with a season-high 10 runs - the last team to reach double digits in scoring this season - after combining for six in their previous six games.

"You kind of get to the point where you have to prove you can do it," said Kevin Correia, who benefited from the run support and earned the win Sunday. "We've got guys that can hit the ball. We just have to start doing it on a consistent basis."

San Diego will send Chad Gaudin (4-7, 5.03) to the mound to open the second half.

The right-hander has given up two runs or fewer in three of his last four starts. He yielded one run and three hits while striking out seven in 6 2-3 innings of San Diego's 6-2 loss to Arizona on Wednesday.

In his only appearance against the Rockies, Gaudin yielded three runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings for Tampa Bay in an 8-7, 10-inning loss June 11, 2004.

Colorado is 5-3 against San Diego this season.