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Padres-Marlins Preview

Aug 28, 2009 - 3:56 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

San Diego (54-74) at Florida (67-59), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Matchups with San Diego have given the Florida Marlins little trouble in recent years. Putting Kevin Correia on the mound may not help the Padres' cause.

The Marlins look to win their fifth straight against the Padres and continue their success against Correia on Friday night.

Florida (67-60), trying to make up ground in its pursuit for a playoff spot, is in need of a boost after losing 10-3 to the injury-depleted New York Mets on Thursday.

The Marlins enter this three-game series having lost five of eight after winning nine of their previous 11. They trail NL wild-card leading Colorado by 4 1/2 games with 35 to play.

"We go out every day and we believe we can win every day," Florida left fielder Chris Coghlan told the team's official Web site. "We've got take one game at a time. We've got to go out there and take every aspect of the game and perform."

Facing the last-place Padres (54-75) gives the Marlins a chance to build some momentum. Florida has won four straight and eight of its last 10 against San Diego, allowing a total of six runs over the last four meetings.

The Marlins posted a 1.33 ERA in a three-game set at San Diego from July 20-22, the first series between the teams this season.

Correia (8-10, 4.46 ERA) hasn't been a part of the Padres' struggles versus the Marlins, but he has had his own problems against them.

Correia started three games against Florida while with San Francisco, going 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA. The Padres signed him as a free agent this past offseason.

Correia is coming off one of his worst starts of the season, surrendering five runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings of San Diego's 7-0 loss to St. Louis on Saturday night.

The right-hander went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his previous three outings.

Florida will counter with Chris Volstad (9-10, 4.73), who is 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA in his last four starts. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits in four innings of Florida's 4-3 loss to Atlanta on Saturday night.

Volstad earned a win in the Marlins' 3-2 victory over the Padres on July 21, giving up one run in seven innings. It was his first appearance against San Diego.

He'll face a Padres team that went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position in a 9-1 loss to Atlanta on Thursday night. A day after scoring 12 runs, San Diego pushed one runner past second base as it failed to sweep the three-game series.

The Padres have scored two runs or fewer in six of eight games, losing five.

Adrian Gonzalez, who leads San Diego with 34 homers, was batting .537 with seven homers and 15 RBIs in 12 road games before going 0 for 3 on Thursday. He's 5 for 9 with two homers in his last two games at Florida.

Coghlan, meanwhile, remains hot at the plate for the Marlins this month, homering twice in his last contest. He's batting .387 with four homers, five doubles, three triples and 16 RBIs in his last 24 games.