The 50-50 San Diego Padres are facing the prospect of leading their division with a sub-.500 record. They've lost eight in a row and once again face a depleted St. Louis lineup. The Padres just are not delivering. They knocked out nine hits in 5 2/3 innings vs. Mulder last night, but came away with only two runs. Three double plays by the Cardinals helped. As you can see here, the hitters are just not hitting. Most of the regulars have on-base averages below .300.

The Padres will try to turn this around as Jake Peavy faces Jason Marquis. Peavy was shelled by the Mets in his last start and has been inconsistent since the start of June. The Padres need Jake to be a rock solid staff ace right now, and he's not getting the job done.

Marquis is the "hard luck" pitcher on the Cardinals staff. His ERA is 3rd among the five regular starters, but his 9-7 record less deserved than Mulder's 12-5. Although I suppose that things even out; his ERA is likely lower than it should be given his strikeouts, walks and home runs allowed. His DIPS is 5.10.

Enjoy!

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