Padres-Diamondbacks: Pre-game Lineup and Analysis

The San Diego Padres picked up a much needed win on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. It's hopefully a start for this team to get back on the right track and the Padres need to carry over the momentum and adrenaline over to Wednesday night's game as they welcome in the last place Arizona Diamondbacks, who are coming off a three game losing streak.

Getting the start tonight for San Diego is right hander Jake Peavy, who is coming off his best start of the year against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Peavy threw eight shutout innings, giving up just two hits but his offense didn't give him the help he needed and he ended up with a no decision in a game the Padres ended up losing.

Here are the starting lineup for the San Diego Padres against Arizona starter Jon Garland (2-1, 4.94)

San Diego Padres

Brian Giles (.168) - Right Field
David Eckstein (.260) - 2nd Base
Scott Hairston (.351) - Left Field
Adrian Gonzalez (.313) - 1st Base
Jody Gerut (.221) - Center Field
Kevin Kouzmanoff (.228) - 3rd Base
Henry Blanco (.161) - Catcher
Luis Rodriguez (.222) - Short Stop
Jake Peavy (2-3, 4.58)


Keys to the game for San Diego

You know what you get with Jake Peavy on the hill, you know you're going to get 110% effort from the kid from Alabama. If Jake comes out and goes right after the Arizona hitters, he'll have the same success. Jake is at his best when he challenges hitters with his 2-seam fastball and then puts them away with his nasty slider. Peavy needs to mix up his pitches, not rely so heavily on his fastball because Arizona will start waiting on that pitch. If he mixes in a changeup and a curveball in the right count and keep the ball low in the zone, he can keep Arizona off the board.

The offense needs to step up tonight and put runs on the board against Garland, who's coming off a pretty good outing in Milwaukee. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits, a game the Diamondbacks ended up winning late, 5-2.

They have patience at the front of the lineup with guys like Giles and Eckstein and then power behind those two guys in Hairston and Gonzalez as well as Jody Gerut at certain times. If Giles and Eckstein can get on base or at least work deep into counts and wear down Garland early, Hairston and Gonzalez will be able to watch those at bats closely and take advantage of it.

The guy that's had the most success against Garland is the man starting in center field for the Padres, Jody Gerut. Gerut, in 13 at bats, is hitting .308 against the Arizona starter. Luis Rodriguez, starting at short stop tonight for San Diego, has the second most at bats against Garland (7) and is hitting .286 against him.

The one thing the Padres have to be hoping for is a better crowd than they received the previous two nights. On Monday night, a crown of 14,717 was announced and if that wasn't bad enough, Tuesday night saw an even smaller crown. An announced 13,646, the smallest crowd ever since Petco Park opened in 2004.