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Washington (9-18) at San Diego (14-13) 7:05 pm PDT

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The San Diego Padres hope to prevent the Washington Nationals from winning their first series of the season when the teams face off Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series at Petco Park. The Padres earned a 3-0 win Tuesday night behind eight strong innings from Chris Young. San Diego has scored just 23 runs in its past seven games, posting a 2-5 mark over that stretch.

The Padres' dormant offense will take a crack at Nationals starter Matt Chico (2-2, 5.70 ERA) on Wednesday. The rookie lefthander has yet to make it through the sixth inning this season. In his last start, Chico tossed a season-high 5 1/3 frames - yielding two runs and nine hits - in a 4-3 win over the New York Mets last Friday. The 23-year-old now has yielded 33 hits and 16 walks in 23 2/3 innings over five starts in 2007.

The Padres will counter with Clay Hensley (1-3, 7.86), who picked up his first win of the season in his last outing. The 27-year-old righthander allowed two runs and six hits in a season-high 6 1/3 frames last Friday against the Dodgers but did not factor in the decision. San Diego's recent struggles at the plate have dropped it to 13th in the National League with a .242 average. Washington remains last in the league with a .230 mark.

Logo: Padres/MLB