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Jake Peavy
has started to turn around his miserable season. That bodes well for the
San Diego Padres
as they look to defend their NL West crown.
Peavy will try to help the Padres move closer to the first-place
Los Angeles Dodgers
when the NL West rivals resume their three-game series on Tuesday.
It's been a difficult season for Peavy (6-12, 4.55 ERA), who's already set a career high for losses. His ERA also ballooned
to a season-high 5.15 after back-to-back seven-run outings on July 16-21.
In five outings since then, though, Peavy is 2-2 with a 2.43 ERA. He gave up three runs and three hits over seven innings
of an 8-4 loss to San Francisco on Thursday.
''I'm feeling as good as I can feel (physically), and I'm going to keep these other guys around me positive,'' Peavy said.
The right-hander, fourth in the NL with 162 strikeouts, has pitched well in his career against the Dodgers. He's 5-1 with
a 2.29 ERA in 11 starts against them, including a win on July 26.
San Diego (63-62) maintained its dominance this season over Los Angeles (66-59) with a 4-2 victory on Monday. The Padres have
won nine of the last 10 meetings.
The win moved the Padres within three games of the Dodgers for the division lead and two behind the Reds for the wild card.
''We've still got a chance,'' Peavy said.
The Padres received a clutch effort Monday by
Tim Stauffer
, who got the start when veteran
Chan Ho Park
was scratched due to a recurrence of intestinal bleeding that recently forced him to go on the disabled list.
Stauffer allowed two runs and three hits over six innings to win his season debut.
''You can't say enough about him,'' manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''He saved us. We got more than we expected there.''
Mike Cameron
tripled to lead off the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on a groundout. Cameron is hitting .307 (16-for-52) with 11 runs
against the Dodgers this year.
Brian Giles
' RBI double in the seventh gave San Diego an insurance run. Catcher
Mike Piazza
, though, went 0-for-3 and is hitless in his last 24 at-bats since hitting his second homer of the game in a 4-3 loss to the
New York Mets
on Aug. 9.
The Dodgers continued to have solving Padres closer
Trevor Hoffman
, who recorded his 32nd save. Hoffman has converted all four save chances against Los Angeles this season and 22 in a row
against them overall.
The loss was Los Angeles' third in five games after a stretch in which they went 17-1 from July 28-Aug. 15.
The Dodgers will send
Mark Hendrickson
(1-5, 5.19) to the mound. The left-hander lasted a season-low 2 1-3 innings Wednesday in a 15-4 loss to Florida on Wednesday
that ended their six-game winning streak.
''The fact that I walked the bases loaded really hurt,'' Hendrickson said of a first inning in which he gave up four runs.
''After that it was playing catch-up, and I really couldn't get back. My game today wasn't sharp, and I think it carried over
to everyone else.''
He had worked at least five innings in each of his previous 21 starts this year, including his first eight with the Dodgers
after being acquired from Tamps Bay.
This is Hendrickson's second start of the season against the Padres. He allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings
in a 7-3 loss on July 25.
Right fielder J.D. Drew was 0-for-3 with a walk Monday and is 5-for-40 with 10 strikeouts against San Diego this year.
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