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Padres-Giants Preview

May 10, 2010 - 10:00 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

San Diego (19-12) at San Francisco (18-12), 10:15 p.m. EDT

With a home sweep of San Francisco three weeks ago, the San Diego Padres vaulted past the Giants and into first place in the NL West.

Behind the unbeaten Barry Zito, San Francisco hopes to reclaim the top spot and exact some revenge when the teams open a three-game set Tuesday night at AT&T Park.

The Giants (18-12) arrived at Petco Park on April 19 tied for the NL's best record, two games ahead of the Padres. After three straight losses in which it scored four times and went 1 for 23 with runners in scoring position, San Francisco departed in second place.

San Diego (19-12) still holds the top spot, but the Giants are in position to reclaim it Tuesday. Zito is a big reason why.

Off to the best start of his career, Zito (5-0, 1.49 ERA) has won five straight decisions for the first time since a six-game winning streak from May 17-June 16, 2006. The only start this season in which Zito did not receive a decision came April 18, when he allowed one run in 7 1-3 innings of a 2-1 loss to Los Angeles.

The left-hander has limited opponents to a .182 average, second-lowest in the league. He yielded one run in seven innings of a 3-2 win over Florida on Wednesday.

"I'm not too high, I'm not too low," said Zito, who didn't record his fifth win of 2009 until July 7 - his 17th start. "I'm just going out there playing as hard as I can and hoping the baseball gods are good to me."

Zito will take whatever help he can get against San Diego, which has given him plenty of problems lately. The three-time All-Star has gone 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in his last seven matchups with the Padres.

San Diego's Wade LeBlanc (2-0, 1.16) is also enjoying an outstanding start to 2010.

Called up to start in place of the injured Chris Young on April 18, LeBlanc has quickly emerged as one of the top pitchers in the Padres' rotation, with San Diego winning all four of his outings. The left-hander gave up two runs in six innings of a 3-2 victory over Colorado last Tuesday but didn't receive a decision.

LeBlanc entered this season with four wins in 13 starts - half of the victories coming against the Giants. He posted a 1.29 ERA in those two wins.

The Padres lost 4-3 to Houston in 11 innings Sunday, just their sixth defeat in 22 games.

Adrian Gonzalez, 5 for 33 with no extra-base hits and one RBI in his last 10 games, will try to turn it around by continuing his hot hitting against San Francisco. The slugger batted .323 with three home runs and seven RBIs in his last nine games against the Giants.

San Francisco is returning home after going 4-2 on a trip through Florida and New York.

Aaron Rowand hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in a 6-5 win over New York on Sunday as he continued to carry the Giants offensively. The center fielder batted .357 with three homers and 11 RBIs in the last six games.

Rowand missed the San Diego series last month because he was on the disabled list with a fractured cheekbone.