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Pirates-Padres Preview

Aug 12, 2010 - 9:35 PM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (39-74) at San Diego (66-46), 6:35 p.m. EDT

Before the first-place San Diego Padres can focus on a key weekend series against their closest pursuer in the NL West, they'll look to secure a perfect season series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Padres try for a ninth straight victory over the Pirates in the conclusion of their three-game home set Thursday afternoon.

San Diego (66-46) holds a 2 1/2-game lead over San Francisco, which hosts a three-game series between the teams starting Friday. While the Padres know the importance of that set, there is some work to do as they try to improve to 6-0 against Pittsburgh this season.

Adrian Gonzalez went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and Jerry Hairston Jr. added a two-run homer as the Padres secured their first winning home series over the Pirates since 2007 with an 8-5 win Wednesday.

The Padres have the best record in the NL while the Pirates (39-74) have the worst record in the majors. Pittsburgh, which has been outscored 32-14 by San Diego this season, has lost three in a row overall and six straight on the road.

"The guys are fighting hard," manager John Russell told the Pirates' official website. "You can't fault the effort. It's just putting it all together."

Gonzalez is 9 for 15 with five RBIs in four games after going 2 for 20 in his previous five contests. He is 7 for 18 with a home run and six RBIs versus Pittsburgh this season.

Hairston has homered three times in four games, and is 10 for 22 in his last six contests.

Jon Garland (10-8, 3.55 ERA) will try again to match his win total from last season when he takes the ball for the Padres in the finale.

Though Garland has lost two of his last three starts, he's posted a 3.20 ERA during that stretch. He allowed two runs and three hits but walked six in seven innings of a 2-1 loss at Arizona on Friday.

"You give up runs with two outs; walk, hits anything with two outs is going to kill you," Garland said.

The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA against the Pirates, who counter with Zach Duke (5-10, 5.32).

Duke fared well the last time he visited San Diego, allowing one run in 8 1-3 innings of a 10-1 win over the Padres on April 25, 2009. The left-hander is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA against the Padres.

In his most recent start, Duke gave up three runs and 10 hits in six innings but did not factor in the decision of a 6-3 loss to Colorado on Friday.

Neil Walker had two hits with an RBI and Ryan Doumit drove in a pair of runs Wednesday for the Pirates, who lost despite scoring two more runs than in their previous four road games combined.

Pirates leadoff hitter Andrew McCutchen is batting .281 this season but is 1 for 11 against the Padres after going 0 for 3 on Wednesday.