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Peavy seeks win as Padres eye split with Phillies

Jul 22, 2007 - 2:29 PM Philadelphia (49-48) at San Diego (53-43) 4:05 pm EDT

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Jake Peavy targets his first win in over a month as the San Diego Padres look to salvage a split of their four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Despite Petco Park's reputation as a pitcher-friendly venue, Peavy (9-4, 2.30 ERA) has lost his last three starts at home, surrendering three runs in each outing.

Those recent problems have contributed to his 5-4 record with a 3.16 ERA in 12 home starts this season. This is in stark contrast to Peavy's 4-0 record with a 0.94 ERA in seven road appearances.

In his last turn on Tuesday, Peavy yielded three runs and six hits with five strikeouts over six innings in the Padres' 7-0 home loss to the New York Mets. In the righthander's favor is the fact that he is 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in four career starts against the Phillies.

For Peavy to get his first win since June 19, he will need to continue his past success against Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard. The All-Star starter has held him hitless in six at-bats.

Since ending May with just nine homers in 35 games, Howard has slammed opposing pitching for 18 home runs over the last 44 games, including two in Saturday's 12-4 win.

The Phillies will start J.D. Durbin (1-2, 9.00), who notched his first career win in a 15-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. He allowed just one run and six hits in six innings of his third career start.

The righthander will be making his first career appearance vs. the Padres. He will be looking to help Philadelphia win their third straight road game for the first time since sweeping the New York Mets early in June.