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Padres-Marlins Preview

Apr 28, 2010 - 5:50 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

San Diego (11-8) at Florida (11-9), 12:10 p.m. EDT

A six-game road trip could have been a stumbling block for the surprising San Diego Padres. Instead, they're in position to finish the jaunt above .500.

Kevin Correia might give them an excellent chance at accomplishing that.

Correia will take the mound Wednesday afternoon looking to help the Padres cap the trip with a second straight victory over the struggling Florida Marlins.

San Diego (12-8) opened the season by losing four of six on the road, but a six-game winning streak at home appeared to give the club momentum. The Padres carried their home success over to start of this trip, winning the first two games before dropping the next two including a 10-1 loss Monday in the opener of this series.

After responding by beating the Marlins 4-1 on Tuesday, they have a chance to finish 4-2 on the trip and improve to .500 away from San Diego. Coming off two straight losing seasons, the Padres are tied with San Francisco for the NL West lead.

"Go out there, have good pitching, play great defense and execute on offense - that's our style of game," second baseman David Eckstein told the team's official website. "That's who we are."

Correia (3-1, 3.13 ERA), who led the Padres with 12 wins in 2009, is emerging as the club's most reliable starter.

He's posted a 2.12 ERA while winning a career high-tying three consecutive starts, including Friday's 10-4 win at Cincinnati. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, where he eventually allowed two runs and three hits before exiting with two outs.

Correia has also benefited from outstanding run support, as the lineup has provided him 26 runs during his winning streak.

"I'm never going to complain. I'd go five innings every time if we're going to win and score like that," Correia told the team's official website.

Correia is 1-2 with a 6.89 ERA in 11 appearances - four starts - against the Marlins. However, he won his last start at Florida, allowing four runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 9-5 win Aug. 28.

Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and an RBI Tuesday, and is batting .348 with four homers and nine RBIs in his last six games. The All-Star first baseman, frequently the subject of trade rumors, leads San Diego with six homers and 15 RBIs.

The Padres are also excelling on the bases, where their 23 steals are tied with Washington for most in the majors.

The Marlins have dropped three of four and are in danger of losing their first home series of the season.

They'll give the ball to Nate Robertson (2-1, 3.98) on short rest after he surrendered five runs and five hits with four walks in four innings of Saturday's 8-1 loss at Colorado. The left-hander was pulled after 84 pitches as the team wanted to preserve him for Wednesday.

"That's one of the reasons we didn't run him out there for the fifth," manager Fredi Gonzalez told the team's official website.

Robertson won his only previous start against the Padres on June 21, 2008, allowing five runs in six innings of a 7-5 victory for Detroit.