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About three weeks ago the Padres and Giants met for a series in San Francisco, where the latter took two of three in front of their hometown fans. But since then, the Giants haven't had it much better than the Padres and the two teams have dropped to the bottom two spots in the NL West. Tonight they will meet at Petco Park for the beginning of another three-game set and will see if one of them can turn their luck around.
The last time the Giants came to San Diego, at the end of April, the Padres completed the three-game sweep. Tonight's starting pitcher, Jason Marquis, took the finale of that series, limiting the Giants to just two runs in 6 2/3 innings. The win put him at 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his last two starts against them. However, he's in a bit of a pitching slump lately, going winless in his last four starts while posting a 4.37 ERA.
The Friars finally snapped their ten-game losing streak on Tuesday, but dropped the final game of their series against Colorado last night. The Giants have lost 16 of their last 19 games while averaging just over two runs per game. Tonight they'll turn to Madison Bumgarner to start the series on a winning note.
Like San Diego, San Francisco has only one victory so far in July. It belongs to Bumgarner, who surrendered just two runs on three hits while striking out nine in seven innings of work against the Dodgers. He is 1-0 in two starts against the Padres this season, both at home. And he has won five of his last six starts. The giants will look to him to dominate once more and break the recent trend of futility among their pitching staff, who have combined for a 7.07 ERA this month.