• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Unknown Germano looks to stay unbeaten

Jun 2, 2007 - 2:11 PM San Diego (31-23) at Washington (23-32) 7:05 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Justin Germano has turned a trial run in the rotation into something pretty special.

The San Diego Padres continue their weekend series on Saturday with the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium.

Germano (3-0, 1.08 ERA), who was called up from the minors and given a tentative spot in the rotation to replace the then-injured Clay Hensley, has been nearly untouchable in his four starts. He has held opponents to a .193 batting average and has reeled off three straight win after a no-decision in his first start on May 8.

The righthander, who has lasted at least six innings in each outing, has walked just two batters in 25 innings and yielded no more than two runs in any appearance. He allowed two runs and five hits in Saturday's 6-3 win over Milwaukee. Germano will be facing Washington for the first time in his career.

Levale Speigner (1-1, 8.39), who will be making his fourth start of the season, looks to rebound from his worst outing of the campaign. He surrendered eight runs and eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings in an 8-6 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday.

The righthander has made only one brief appearance against the Padres in his career, retiring the only batter he faced in a relief appearance on May 2.