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Cellar dwellers square off in Chicago

May 28, 2012 - 2:40 PM (Sports Network) - One of the two worst teams in the National League can end a prolonged skid today when the West Division's San Diego Padres visit the Central's Chicago Cubs for the opening test of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

The Padres, who are 16 games behind front-running Los Angeles, have lost six of seven overall after dropping three in a row to the New York Mets over the weekend at Citi Field.

Meanwhile, the Cubs are just two losses shy of a franchise-record slide after dropping three straight in Pittsburgh to bring their current stretch to 12 consecutive losses.

The visitors send veteran right-hander Jeff Suppan to the mound for his 448th career big-league appearance and his 28th meeting with the Cubs.

Now 37 years old, the Oklahoma native split 2011 between Milwaukee and St. Louis before being signed as a free agent by the Padres in February.

He began the year at Triple-A Tucson and allowed nine runs across 6 2/3 innings of two starts, then debuted for San Diego on May 2 with five innings of scoreless ball in a 5-0 win over the visiting Brewers.

Suppan made it two in a row with a 3-1 win over Colorado six days later, but has since dropped three straight starts while allowing 12 runs on 20 hits in 15 2/3 innings against Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and St. Louis.

Lifetime against Chicago, Suppan is 6-11 with a 4.11 earned run average.

The Cubs counter with lefty Travis Wood, who makes a third try at a first win in a Chicago uniform.

Wood won 11 times in 20 decisions with the Reds in 2010-11 before coming to the Cubs in the trade that sent reliever Sean Marshall to Cincinnati.

He's made seven starts and posted a 4.57 ERA in 41 1/3 innings at Triple-A Iowa while also making two starts in the majors and allowing five runs in 11 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Los Angeles and a loss at Houston.

Wood has faced the Padres three times and allowed four runs with 12 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings.

On Sunday in New York, R.A. Dickey spun 7 1/3 scoreless innings as the Mets took a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in the finale of a four-game set.

Edinson Volquez (2-5) labored through 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while fanning five.

Yonder Alonso extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the first, but the Padres failed to score for the second straight game.

In Pittsburgh, Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer and had four RBI as the Pirates completed a sweep of the Cubs with a 10-4 victory at PNC Park. Starlin Castro ripped a two-run homer and Darwin Barney added an RBI double for Chicago.

Matt Garza (2-3) was tagged for six runs - five earned - on seven hits and a walk while fanning six to absorb the loss in five-plus innings.