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Giants-Padres Preview

Oct 2, 2009 - 1:01 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

San Francisco (85-73) at San Diego (74-85), 10:05 p.m. EDT

One reason why the San Francisco Giants missed the playoffs is their poor play at San Diego this season.

The Giants will try to avoid falling to 0-7 at Petco Park this year Friday night when they start a weekend series against the San Diego Padres.

San Francisco (86-73) was eliminated Wednesday from postseason contention when Colorado beat Milwaukee 10-6. The Giants were a bit of a surprise after posting back-to-back 90-loss seasons.

They haven't managed much offense in San Diego, however, scoring a total of 11 runs in losing six games. The Giants are batting .218 with one homer in those contests.

That's something San Francisco can rectify this weekend, and it appears to be in good shape for the future with news surfacing that the club is finalizing extensions for general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.

"I can't (confirm it)," Bochy said after the Giants beat Arizona 7-3 on Thursday in their final home game. "We have three more games and that's my focus. I'm under contract."

Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval has team highs of 23 homers and 88 RBIs, but is 2 for 23 (.087) with no RBIs at Petco Park this year.

Barry Zito (10-13, 4.10 ERA) will start for the Giants and looks to avoid another loss to San Diego (74-85). He's 0-4 with a 5.72 ERA in five starts against the Padres this year, and 1-3 with a 4.04 ERA in six career starts at Petco.

The left-hander will try to equal his highest win total as a Giant after going 11-13 in 2007 and 10-17 last year. He has lasted past the fifth inning once in his last five outings, posting a 1-2 mark with a 5.18 ERA in that span.

Zito yielded four runs over four innings Saturday in a 6-2 loss to the Cubs.

San Diego is concluding a second straight losing season, and is finishing strong with eight wins in 11 games. The Padres finished a two-game sweep of the NL West-leading Dodgers with a 5-0 victory Wednesday.

Last week, San Diego took two of three on the road from playoff-bound Colorado.

"We talked about playing contending teams tough," Padres manager Bud Black said. "It's a measuring stick."

Former Giants right-hander Kevin Correia (12-10, 3.89) will try to extend his 16-inning scoreless streak for the Padres. With Chris Young limited to 14 starts due to injury and Jake Peavy being traded to the White Sox, Correia emerged as the staff leader in wins.

Correia, born in San Diego, will be a free agent after turning in his best season in the majors. His 192 innings are a career high.

"Obviously, my future is in their hands," Correia told the Padres' official Web site. "I'm going to finish out the season and then worry about that stuff. I'd love to stay. Obviously, it's my hometown team and I love playing here."

Correia improved to 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his last six outings after throwing a six-hitter in a 4-0 victory at Arizona on Friday for his first career shutout. He's 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three starts against the Giants.