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Coming off one of the best months of his career,
Chris Young
tries to end his July pitching woes Saturday when the
San Diego Padres
continue their three-game series against the
Washington Nationals
at RFK Stadium.
Young (7-4, 3.13 ERA) was the NL pitcher of the month in June after going 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in five starts. But that success
has yet to carry over to July, when the 6-foot-10 right-hander is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA in six lifetime starts in his two-plus
seasons in the majors.
His personal four-game winning streak came to an end Sunday, when he allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings of a
6-2 defeat to the
San Francisco Giants
. Young had allowed just five runs in 38 2-3 innings and had a 0.93 ERA in his previous six starts during his winning streak.
The lanky right-hander also missed out on being added to the National League All-Star roster after Dodgers first baseman
Nomar Garciaparra
won the spot awarded by internet voters, but Young was happy being one of the five nominees as selected by the managers.
''That's an unbelievable honor,'' Young said Thursday. ''To have my name selected by those guys, in the company of those other
four players, is just tremendous. When I reflect on this, that and all the great support I got from teammates, those are the
things that mean so much to me.''
San Diego (46-40) has a three-game winning streak after Friday's 3-2 win.
Adrian Gonzalez
went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs for the Padres, who are trying to win four straight games for the first time since
a five-game streak from May 10-14 that completed a stretch of 13 wins in 14 games.
After being forced to leave in losing starter
Russ Ortiz
too long because of overusing his bullpen in the final two games of Washington's previous series, Nationals manager
Frank Robinson
hopes
Pedro Astacio
(1-0, 1.80) can provide a lengthy and quality start in his second since returning from injury.
Astacio missed the first three months of the season with a right forearm strain but was strong in his season debut Monday,
limiting the
Florida Marlins
to one run and three hits in five innings of the 9-1 win over Florida.
''That was a very pleasant surprise,'' Robinson said. ''How sharp he was, how effective he was. That was what we needed.''
Astacio, who threw 71 pitches, was cautiously optimistic.
''I threw the ball well,'' he said. ''We'll go game-by-game and see what happens.''
The veteran right-hander has won his last three decisions against the Padres and is 9-4 with a 3.44 ERA lifetime. Astacio,
though, has not faced the Padres since May 11, 2003.
Nationals third baseman
Ryan Zimmerman
has a 10-game hitting streak entering this contest, going 17-for-39 (.436) with two homers and 11 RBIs in that span.
The Padres have won 14 of their last 17 against the Nationals franchise and are 4-0 at RFK Stadium.
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