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Nationals-Padres Preview

May 30, 2010 - 5:21 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Washington (25-24) at San Diego (28-20), 4:05 p.m. EDT

After looking like a potential Cy Young Award candidate over his first six starts, Livan Hernandez has finally started to look beatable over his last three outings.

Jon Garland, on the other hand, might be getting better as his first season with the San Diego Padres progresses.

Garland tries to win a seventh consecutive decision Sunday afternoon as he and the first-place Padres play the decisive finale of a three-game set against Hernandez and the visiting Nationals.

Hernandez (4-3, 2.08 ERA) and Garland (6-2, 2.10) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in NL ERA, but while Hernandez seems like he might be slowing down just a bit, Garland has won six straight.

Pitching on his third NL West team since the beginning of 2009, Garland is a big reason the Padres (29-20) are in first place. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning Tuesday to make it through seven in a 1-0 win over St. Louis, the third time this month Garland has pitched seven scoreless innings.

"If he doesn't get out of the first inning, the whole complexion of the ball game could change," shortstop Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "But that's why he's our ace. He was struggling there, but he still found a way to get it down."

Garland, 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA in two starts against the Nationals (25-25) since 2008, has particularly enjoyed his first five outings inside spacious Petco Park with the Padres. He's 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA.

This current stretch, though, is still far from the best in Garland's career. He won 10 straight starts with a 2.31 ERA from Sept. 26, 2004-May 17, 2005, with the Chicago White Sox.

Hernandez, meanwhile, is 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in his last three starts after beginning the season 4-1 with a 1.04 ERA. After four scoreless innings Tuesday at San Francisco, he came undone in the fifth, allowing five straight two-out hits and four runs en route to a 4-2 loss.

"Unbelievable," Hernandez told the Nationals' official website. "I threw good pitches and they hit it. Today, I feel very good and I lose the game with two outs. I can't say anything."

While Garland is loving his new home stadium, Hernandez has never found Petco Park to be very inviting. He's never won there in seven starts, and is 0-5 with a 7.20 ERA in his last five trips.

Two of the Padres' biggest bats have given him trouble. Adrian Gonzalez is only a .259 hitter against Hernandez, but four of his seven hits are homers, while Chase Headley is 2 for 4 with a homer and four walks.

Gonzalez and Headley went a combined 1 for 7 on Saturday, but Nick Hundley put San Diego in control early. Hundley had two of San Diego's four hits, including a three-run, first-inning homer that was the key to a 4-2 win.

Yorvit Torrealba, who's been splitting time with Hundley behind the plate, had three hits in Friday's series opener.

"It's a tough one because they're both playing well," manager Bud Black said. "We're fortunate to have two guys who, on a lot of other teams, could be everyday starting catchers. It's a luxury. Those guys are handling it great. They're both being extremely unselfish."

Torrealba has been behind the plate for all three of Garland's seven-inning, scoreless outings.

The Padres have won all five of their previous home series against Washington since the franchise moved to the nation's capital.