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Padres-Pirates Preview

Jul 23, 2010 - 4:15 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

San Diego (55-38) at Pittsburgh (34-60), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The San Diego Padres have played relatively well on the road, just not this month. A trip to Pittsburgh could help them turn things around.

Coming off their latest losing road series, the NL West-leading Padres try to bounce back with a fourth consecutive victory over the Pirates on Friday night.

San Diego (55-39) is 25-20 on the road but has gone 3-6 while losing its last three series in July. The Padres lost two of three at Atlanta after an 8-0 defeat Thursday, dropping them one-half game behind the Braves for the best record in the NL.

"We're already over it," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez told the Padres' official website. "Our focus is always on that next game."

The Padres have a chance to regain some road success at Pittsburgh, where they are 20-9 since the start of the 2001 season. San Diego has not lost a series there since July 28-30, 2000.

In order to maintain that success, the Padres may need to improve at the plate after scoring seven runs in Atlanta. San Diego averaged 8.7 runs in winning four in a row prior to that series.

"We feel that we can put quality at-bats together," said catcher Nick Hundley, who is 3 for 17 in his last five games.

Gonzalez, who went 1 for 12 with six strikeouts against the Braves, has hit four of his seven homers versus the Pirates at Pittsburgh. He is 1 for 8 against scheduled starter Paul Maholm (6-7, 4.03 ERA), who is 0-2 in three starts versus San Diego despite posting a 3.05 ERA.

The left-hander improved to 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his last two starts after tossing a three-hitter in a 9-0 win over Houston on Sunday.

"I've had a couple bad outings, but I just told myself that was going to be it," Maholm told the Pirates' official website. "It was going to stop there."

San Diego counters with Kevin Correia (6-6, 5.22), who tries to build on his first win since May 31. The right-hander was 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in seven starts before giving up three runs and striking out a season-high nine in six innings of a 6-4 win over Arizona on Sunday.

Correia is 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA in three starts against Pittsburgh. He allowed six hits in seven innings of a 4-0 win in his only start at PNC Park on Sept. 20.

After scoring 26 runs to win its previous two games against Milwaukee, Pittsburgh (34-61) was held in check during a 3-2 loss Thursday to split the four-game series.

Rookie second baseman Neil Walker had two hits and drove in both runs. He is 16 for 27 with eight RBIs in his last six games.

The Pirates are without catcher Ryan Doumit, who was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a concussion. Doumit is second on the team with eight home runs and 32 RBIs.