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Padres-Marlins Preview

Apr 26, 2010 - 3:38 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

San Diego (11-6) at Florida (10-8), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The San Diego Padres' bid to keep the longest winning streak in the majors intact came up short in their final at-bat. They'll try to get a new streak started Monday night when they open a three-game series at the Florida Marlins.

San Diego (11-7) had won eight in a row before Jerry Hairston Jr. flied out to center with a runner on third, recording the final out of a 5-4 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday.

The Padres remain the unlikely leaders in the NL West, holding a one-game advantage on San Francisco.

"I've seen the things we worked hard on in spring training, the things that we're going to do to win games," center fielder Tony Gwynn Jr. told the team's official website. "If we play like we have those last eight games, heck, these last nine games (including Sunday), we'll be fine."

Adrian Gonzalez is providing a power surge for San Diego, hitting a home run in each of the last four games to move one shy of his career-high five-game homer streak, set last May 10-15. The All-Star first baseman has six total hits and eight RBIs in his last four games.

He's been outstanding on the road, where he's hit five of his team-high six homers while posting a .333 average. That could continue at Florida (10-9), where Gonzalez is 7 for 17 with two solo homers in his last five games.

For the series opener, San Diego will give the ball to Matt Latos (1-1, 3.57), who's coming off his first win in eight months.

The 22-year-old right-hander was superb Tuesday, yielding four hits in seven innings of a 1-0 win over San Francisco. The victory ended Latos' losing streak at five decisions over seven starts since Aug. 8.

That stretch included a 6-4 loss at Florida on Aug. 30, when Latos surrendered five runs in 3 1-3 innings.

The Padres won just two of six against the Marlins last season, but both victories came at Sun Life Stadium.

Florida is looking to avoid a season-high three-game slide after falling 8-4 at Colorado on Sunday, and an improved performance from Josh Johnson (1-1, 4.09) could be just what the team needs.

The right-hander is trying to recapture his success from last year when he emerged as the Marlins' ace, posting career highs in wins (15), strikeouts (191) and innings (209).

Johnson pitched respectably Wednesday, allowing three runs - two earned - in six innings, but got pulled after throwing 96 pitches and did not receive a decision in a 5-4 loss at Houston.

"JJ's pitch count got high," manager Fredi Gonzalez told the Marlins' official website Wednesday. "The life of his fastball was there. The velocity was there. He had two clean innings. He's not the JJ that we had last year, but he's getting close."

Johnson's only previous start against the Padres came July 4, 2007, when he threw five scoreless innings but didn't get a decision in a 1-0 loss at San Diego.