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Brad Penny
looks to win his sixth straight decision for the
Los Angeles Dodgers
when they continue a three-game series against the
San Diego Padres
at Petco Park on Wednesday.
Penny (7-1, 2.34 ERA) is 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA over seven starts since his lone loss of the season at Arizona on May 1. He also
hasn't allowed a home run in 10 outings since April 14.
The right-hander enters with a scoreless streak of 14 1-3 innings after a victory at Colorado on Friday. He surrendered five
hits over 8 1-3 innings in a 3-0 win.
''I don't think he overthrew a pitch the whole game,'' Los Angeles manager Grady Little said. ''It looked pretty effortless
tonight.''
Penny is making his first start of the season against San Diego. He is 3-4 with a 5.05 ERA in nine career starts against the
Padres.
The right-hander also will try to help the Dodgers bounce back from one of their defeats of the season. Los Angeles (35-29)
has dropped four straight to San Diego (33-31) after a 9-1 loss on Tuesday.
Russell Martin
's RBI single in the fifth inning accounted for all the offense as the Dodgers fell into a first-place tie with Arizona in
the NL West.
Second baseman
Jeff Kent
was activated before the game and went 1-for-4 in his first action since May 27. Kent, who was out with a sprained left wrist,
is just 2-for-19 against the Padres this season.
He's not the only Dodger that has had trouble solving Padres pitching this year. Right fielder J.D. Drew and shortstop
Rafael Furcal
are each batting .173 (4-for-23) and center fielder
Kenny Lofton
is .125 (3-for-24) this season against San Diego.
Mike Cameron
fell a single short of the cycle for the Padres in Tuesday's victory. He walked in his final at-bat in the seventh inning,
preventing him from becoming the first player in San Diego history to accomplish the feat.
''It would have been nice, man - I don't think too many guys have hit four home runs in a game and hit for the cycle,'' said
Cameron, who hit four homers on May 2, 2002, while with the
Seattle Mariners
.
The only players to have a four-homer game and hit for the cycle were
Lou Gehrig
,
Gil Hodges
and
Chuck Klein
. Cameron, though, has hit safely in six straight games, going 9-for-26 with six RBIs and eight runs scored.
Padres catcher
Mike Piazza
, a former Dodger who is hitless in his last nine at-bats, is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with three homers and 12 RBIs in his
career against Penny.
Piazza is hitting just .188 at home this season.
Shortstop
Khalil Greene
went 0-for-4 on Tuesday and is hitless in his last 16 at-bats. Greene's average has slipped to .213 - the lowest it's been
since May 6.
Mike Thompson
(2-2, 4.67) makes his sixth career start for San Diego. After winning his first two career outings this year, Thompson is
0-2 with a 6.00 ERA over his last three outings.
The right-hander, who has never faced the Dodgers, allowed two runs and five hits over five innings his last time out in a
4-3, 10-inning loss at Milwaukee on Thursday.
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