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A loss to the
San Diego Padres
kept the
Texas Rangers
from taking over the AL West lead, while San Diego moved atop its division. Now the Rangers hope to return the favor when
the teams meet in the second game of a three-game set at Ameriquest Field on Wednesday.
The Padres (37-33) moved one game up on Los Angeles for first in the NL West with Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers. Texas
(38-33) also was in position to grab sole possession of first in its division when Oakland lost, but remained tied for the
lead in the AL West.
San Diego will look to stay alone in first as it sends right-hander
Chris Young
(6-3, 3.27 ERA), who will be making his return to Ameriquest Field, to the mound looking for its fourth win in five games.
Young, acquired by the Padres during the offseason in trade for
Adam Eaton
, pitched his first two seasons with the Rangers in 2004 and '05, going 12-7 with a 4.26 ERA last year.
''It's always fun to pitch in front of family and friends,'' said Young, who also attended high school in the Dallas area.
''I'll have a good support group here for sure. ... I have to make sure I'm prepared and able to help my team win the game.''
Young hasn't lost in almost a month, going 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in four starts since a May 24 defeat. He failed to win his
fourth straight start Thursday but pitched well, giving up three runs - two earned - and three hits in five innings of the
Padres' 7-3 loss.
''He's pitching as well as any pitcher I've seen for three starts,'' Padres manager
Bruce Bochy
said after Young struck out 12 in beating Florida 3-2 on June 9. ''He's just locating so well right now and using his pitches.''
Young will face a tough test in Texas right-hander
Kevin Millwood
(8-3, 4.47), who's 5-0 with a 3.77 ERA in his last seven starts.
Millwood pitched 7 1-3 innings and gave up three runs to beat Arizona 5-3 in his last outing Friday. He recorded 11 of his
22 outs on ground balls.
Millwood, though, has struggled at hitter-friendly Ameriquest Field, going 3-3 with a 6.65 ERA in eight starts this season.
''I've only had two bad games here,'' Millwood said. ''But my confidence is not bad here. People make more out of that than
I do. I'm a very strong supporter of it's not where you pitch, but who you pitch against.''
The Padres have won four of the last five meetings with the Rangers and lead the series 9-8.
San Diego's
Mike Cameron
hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning Tuesday. Texas'
Mark Teixeira
hit what he thought was a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but his drive to right field was ruled to
be foul.
''I've got no doubt that ball's fair,'' Teixeira said. ''I was about to run around the bases when I looked up and the first
base ump said it was foul. I can't hit a ball any further than that. If it goes 100 feet past the foul pole but it's only
20 feet foul when it landed, there's no way it can be foul.''
One television replay appeared to show the ball sailing over the foul pole, but Padres manager
Bruce Bochy
disagreed.
''I had a good angle, and there was no doubt in my mind it was foul,'' he said. ''A few more feet and we were walking off
the field.''
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