Rocky Mountain High
As good as Jake Peavy is, he hasn’t even been the best pitcher on his own team this season. Chris Young holds that distinction.
Young looks to win his sixth straight decision Tuesday night as the struggling San Diego Padres continue a three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field.
Peavy entered this season as the ace of the San Diego staff, and while he has been outstanding, Young (9-3, 1.85 ERA) has been even better.
Peavy ranks among the league leaders with nine wins, tops the NL with 136 strikeouts and is third with a 2.47 ERA.
Young, though, has nine wins with less run support, leads the majors in ERA and opponent batting average (.187) and ranks sixth in the NL with 113 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-10 right-hander won his fifth straight decision Thursday with another stellar performance, limiting Philadelphia to two hits in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts in a 1-0 victory.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made San Diego -145 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 9.5ov total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 70% of bets for this game have been placed on San Diego -145 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Young has started all five of the Padres’ 1-0 wins this season, recording two of the victories.
"In the first few innings you don’t expect it will be a 1-0 game," Young said. "But as the game progresses, you don’t want certain guys to beat you, especially late in the game."
Young, who hasn’t lost since May 12 to St. Louis, has held the opposition scoreless in six of his last nine starts.
He is 4-0 with a 2.65 ERA in six career starts against the Rockies, and doesn’t seem to mind pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field, where he is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts.
San Diego held a three-run lead in Monday’s series opener, but the Rockies (50-49) scored fives times in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull ahead and win the game 7-5.
Matt Holliday’s three-run homer off Scott Linebrink tied it, and Brad Hawpe’s two-run shot off Cla Meredith completed the rally.
"The clock’s ticking. Sand’s running out,” Hawpe said. "We’ve got to play good and be able to beat teams like that if we’re going to be the team we want to be.”
Manuel Corpas pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, sealing the Rockies’ ninth win in 10 home games.
"That was a good finish for us tonight,” said manager Clint Hurdle, still noticeably somber over the death 24 hours earlier of minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh, who was hit in the head by a line drive during a Double-A game in Arkansas.
Milton Bradley and Kevin Kouzmanoff homered for the Padres (53-45), who have matched a season high with four straight losses.
San Diego, which has also dropped 10 of 15, fell two games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres haven’t lost five straight since April 24-29, 2006.
Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 3.60) makes his second start of the season and the third of his career for Colorado. The 23-year-old right-hander did not factor in the decision in his season debut Thursday at Washington. He allowed two runs and four hits in five innings while walking three and striking out five in the Rockies’ 5-4 road loss.
by: Michael Cash – thespread.com – Email Us
More MLB Baseball coverage from theSpread.com
– MLB news wire
– Current MLB Injuries
– 2007 MLB standings
– 2007 MLB schedule
– 2007 MLB Umpire sheet
– 2007 MLB stats
– MLB scoreboard
– Expert MLB picks
– Accuscore predictions
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– MLB home
