Jake Peavy put the Padres on his shoulders last night and pitched eight 2-hit innings to end San Diego's 8-game losing streak. It's the second time this season that Jake responded to the need for a superlative game from a starter with a two-hit performance. On May 26th, the Padres bullpen was fatigued and Jake threw nine 2-hit innings against the Diamondbacks.

And Jake really needed to pitch that well as the Padres offense remains ineffective. Jason Marquis matched Peavy's one run allowed through eight innings. After Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth, Klesko and Fick combined with a double and a single to produce the winning run. The Padres stay in the lead above .500.

With the Cardinals loss and the Astros win, however, Houston pulls within 9 1/2 games of St. Louis. The Astros have the best record in the NL from June 17th on. The Astros hot streak corresponds perfectly with Lance Berkman's hot streak. The Astros have gained five games on the Cardinals over that time.