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Cardinals-Padres Preview

May 27, 2010 - 7:13 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

St. Louis (26-21) at San Diego (28-18), 6:35 p.m. EDT

The San Diego Padres finished last in the majors in runs per game in 2009, and their offense has been inconsistent throughout the first two months of this season.

Jerry Hairston Jr. has provided just enough this week.

Despite totaling three runs in the first two games of their series with St. Louis - two on Hairston home runs - the first-place Padres will go for their first three-game sweep of the Cardinals in nearly 15 years on Thursday afternoon.

Low-scoring games in this series have been no surprise considering the clubs have the NL's two lowest ERAs. San Diego (28-18) has been especially stingy at home, with its staff posting a 2.11 ERA and six shutouts while going 14-9 at Petco Park.

St. Louis (26-21) has managed one run in 22 innings there this week, barely avoiding a second straight 1-0 loss thanks to Ryan Ludwick's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday.

The Padres still won the game 2-1 on Hairston's 13th-inning walk-off homer.

"I knew I hit it well, but this ballpark sometimes holds these balls," said Hairston, whose first homer of the season provided the only run Tuesday. "Everybody knows this park is really, really tough. There's reasons why we have one-run ballgames at night here. It's so hard to hit."

The Padres' offense averaged 3.9 runs last year and has been held to two or fewer runs 16 times in 2010, but the club has still found a way to win three one-run games during its four-game winning streak.

St. Louis' offense has also been sputtering. Sluggers Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday were a combined 0 for 10 on Wednesday, and Pujols has been held without an RBI in 11 straight games.

With Brad Penny (strained back) on the disabled list, the Cardinals will give P.J. Walters his second major league start and first of 2010. After Penny was injured in Saturday's 10-7 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Walters gave up two runs in four innings of relief.

The right-hander had been dominant for Triple-A Memphis before he was called up, going 1-0 with an 0.48 ERA, 23 strikeouts and three walks in three starts.

"He's had phenomenal success early on, and should be rewarded for that," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said.

Walters (0-0, 4.50 ERA) debuted in the majors last year, posting a 9.56 ERA in eight appearances. In his lone start, he gave up three runs in four innings of the Cardinals' 8-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs on April 17, 2009.

Walters has been pitching with a heavy heart after his newborn daughter died last month due to complications from a premature birth.

"It definitely has put some things in perspective, as far as everything," Walters said.

San Diego will counter with Wade LeBlanc, who tries to bounce back from his worst start of 2010.

LeBlanc (2-2, 3.32) had held his first six opponents to two or fewer runs, allowing no homers in that stretch, but Seattle hitters took him deep twice while clobbering him for eight runs in three innings of the Padres' 15-8 loss Friday.

"The life on his pitches isn't where we've seen it," manager Bud Black told the Padres' official website. "It's a good learning experience for him that this can happen."

The left-hander, who has never faced St. Louis, still has a 1.48 ERA in four home starts.

San Diego entered this series having lost 11 of 12 against the Cardinals, and it hasn't swept St. Louis since a two-game set on July 16-17, 1997. Its last three-game sweep came Aug. 11-12, 1995, at Jack Murphy Stadium.