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White hopes to lift Rockies over skidding Padres

Sep 3, 2011 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) - Last night, the Rockies sent the division-rival Padres to their longest losing streak of the season. Colorado youngster Alex White hopes to take advantage of San Diego's struggles and pick up his first victory with his new team in the middle portion of a three-game series at Petco Park.

Part of the package the Rockies received from the Indians for Ubaldo Jimenez, White takes a third shot at picking up his first win with the Rockies as he faces the Padres for the first time this evening. He has lasted six innings and allowed five runs in both of his starts since the trade, earning a no- decision in his Colorado debut on Aug. 23 before taking a loss in Arizona on Monday after yielding seven hits and six walks on his 23rd birthday.

"I felt like I had great stuff tonight. I think that's the frustrating part," White said.

In five career starts, including three with the Indians prior to the trade, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.33 earned run average.

White would do well to try and mimic the performance of Kevin Millwood, who tossed seven scoreless innings in last night's 3-0 victory. Millwood scattered seven hits and struck out eight before Rex Brothers and Rafael Betancourt finished off the shutout.

Troy Tulowitzki knocked in a pair of runs and Jonathan Herrera had three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Rockies, who had lost five of six coming in.

"Any time you come here you know it's going to be an offensive struggle a little bit," Tulowitzki said of visiting spacious Petco Park. "To get runs early is very important."

Aaron Harang (12-5) was the hard-luck loser after allowing three runs -- two earned -- on five hits over seven innings. San Diego did not record an extra- base hit in its season-high eighth straight loss.

"I felt good tonight. I felt like I was hitting my spots," Harang said. "They got some hits that fell, a couple tough breaks."

The Padres have been outscored 35-11 over their current slide, with five of those runs coming in one game. Their current skid is the longest since dropping 10 in a row from Aug. 26-Sept. 5 of last year.

Taking the mound for the Padres will be Cory Luebke, who gave up five runs over a four-start span (2-0) before taking a loss in Arizona on Sunday. The left-hander was charged with three runs on six hits, two of them homers, and three walks in 5 1/3 innings, falling to 5-7 with a 3.01 ERA in 41 games this year. That includes 12 starts.

The 26-year-old Luebke will face the Rockies for the ninth time in his career. Two of the previous encounters have been starts and he is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA lifetime in this matchup.

The Rockies have won five of their last six over the Padres and have captured 12 of their past 16 trips to Petco Park.