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With their lineup struggling, the
San Diego Padres
hope
Chan Ho Park
can continue his dominance over the
Milwaukee Brewers
when the teams' four-game series at Miller Park continues Wednesday.
The Brewers (28-31) defeated the Padres 5-1 on Tuesday behind a three-hitter from
Dave Bush
. The loss was the second straight for San Diego (30-28), which has scored four runs in its last three games.
The struggles of leadoff hitter
Dave Roberts
and right fielder
Brian Giles
are a major factor in the team's offensive slump. Roberts is 1-for-11 in his last four games while
Brian Giles
is 2-for-13 in that span.
Judging by Park's history against them, the Padres might have a tough time ending their struggles at the plate Wednesday.
Park (3-3, 4.26 ERA) is 7-0 with a 2.15 ERA in 10 starts against the Brewers. In his last four starts against Milwaukee, he
has allowed one run with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 28 2-3 innings.
The 13-year veteran ended a two-start losing streak Friday, allowing five hits while pitching all six innings of a rain-shortened
7-0 victory over Pittsburgh. Park also went 3-for-3 with two RBIs to improve his batting average this season to .400 (8-for-20).
''A great all-around effort,'' Padres manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''Super job by Chan Ho.''
Park also pitched six innings of shutout ball in his last start against Milwaukee on May 10, a 3-0 win.
While Milwaukee has had no success against Park, the Brewers have won three straight home games against San Diego, and their
victories in the first two games of this series followed a season-high eight-game losing streak.
The Brewers'
Rickie Weeks
had three singles Tuesday to break out of a 1-for-22 slump, while
Geoff Jenkins
, who suffered a mild concussion Sunday in a collision with teammate
Prince Fielder
, snapped a 0-for-15 slump with four singles. Jenkins is 8-for-23 (.348) with three homers and four RBIs against Park.
''The thing about Jenks is he can get on a run in a hurry, and when he does he can carry us,'' Brewers manager
Ned Yost
said.
Jenkins went 13-for-31 (.419) with three doubles and five RBIs during a season-high eight-game hitting streak from April 23-May
1, and Milwaukee went 6-2 in those games.
Fielder went 0-for-4 on Tuesday, and is 1-for-22 in his last seven games. The slump has dropped his average from .326 to .298.
Left-hander
Zach Jackson
(0-0, 0.00) will make his first career start Tuesday after
Dana Eveland
was sent to the minors.
The 23-year-old Jackson pitched a perfect inning of relief Sunday in his major league debut, striking out the first two batters
he faced. Jackson went 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Nashville this season.
The Brewers have used 24 pitchers this season, due in part to injuries to starters
Ben Sheets
and
Tomo Ohka
. Milwaukee's replacement starters, Eveland,
Ben Hendrickson
and Jorge de la Rosa, have gone 0-7 with a 10.93 ERA in 10 starts.
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