Know Your Foe #9: Padres look to keep destroying the competition...will the Rox stand in their way?

San Diego Padres (16-9, 1st place NL West)

Monday-Wednesday: 3-game series @ Petco Park

Rockies' 2010 record against the Padres: 2-1

Jorge De La Rosa pitched a gem in the home opener as the Rox offense got to Clayton Richard and the bullpen and blanked the Friars 7-0. In Game 2, Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley each picked up three hits in an extra-innings victory. The Padre bullpen was terrific, tossing eight innings of scoreless relief while striking out eight Rockies. Ubaldo Jimenez out-dueled Jon Garland in Game 3, holding the Padres to two runs and seven hits in six innings. Garland allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings.

Rockies' 2009 record against the Padres: 10-8 (5-4 at Petco Park)

In taking the season series over the San Diego in 2009, the Rockies outscored the Padres 94-76 (or roughly 5-4 each game). The games at Petco Park actually played out in the Rockies favor a bit more than those at Coors Field, as the Rox held the Friars to just three runs per game while still scoring about five. The Padres were only able to muster up a .621 OPS in those nine games. Ubaldo Jimenez, who goes tonight for Colorado, won his only start against San Diego last season, going seven innings and fanning ten batters while only allowing three hits. However, he also walked four batters which definitely contributed to the three runs he gave up. Wednesday's starter Aaron Cook made three starts against the Padres in 2009 and pretty much dominated, going 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA. Historically, Cook has been very good against the Friars and last year's results, which included 16 K's in 21 innings pitched, speak to that.

Padres' last two series: 2-1 series win at Florida; 3-1 series win vs. Milwaukee

Mat Latos took the loss both times the Padres were defeated during the last two series. Latos was very good Saturday night against the Brewers, allowing just two runs (both via solo home runs) in six innings; he was not good in Florida, however, as he was touched for seven runs on seven hits and only got eight outs. On the flip side, the crafty vet Jon Garland owned the opposition in both of his starts. In Florida, he struck out ten Fish in six innings and only allowed a run on three hits. Yesterday, he was able to shut down the Brew Crew despite allowing five walks in seven innings. Part of his success can be attributed to the fact that he again only gave up three hits. San Diego pitched shutouts in the three of the seven games mentioned above; Garland was the victor in one, while Wade LeBlanc and Clayton Richard can take credit for the other two.

Luckily, the Rockies will avoid the red-hot Garland (who they did not fare well against last year), but they'll have to face Kevin Correia, who has been very good so far in 2010, striking out 26 batters in 28 innings. Also, LeBlanc and his 0.52 ERA will get his shot against the Colorado offense on Tuesday. He's been sensational in 17.1 innings (spanning three starts), allowing just one run while striking out 16. Richard will take the mound Wednesday, and his terrific pickoff move should prove to be a formidable challenge for the aggressive Rockies. At the end of the day, though, a lot of the success these guys are having is largely unsustainable (judging by their careers-to-date), so hopefully their "regression to the mean" begins tonight.

More after the jump...

Expected Pitching Matchups

Monday, May 3rd, 2010 @ 8:05 PM MT

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 @ 8:05 PM MT

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 @ 8:05 PM

Expected Lineup

Bench

Closer