World Champs Come To PETCO Park

St. Louis (14-18) at San Diego (18-17), 7:05 pm PT

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- In the midst of matching their longest losing streak of the season, the San Diego Padres will turn to their ace to try and stop it. Jake Peavy and the Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals as the teams kick off a three-game weekend series at PETCO Park on Friday. Tonight's game is billed as "Retro Night."

After struggling for most of last season, Peavy (4-1, 1.75 ERA) is returning to form. On his way to keeping San Diego from dropping its fourth contest in a row, Peavy will vie for his fifth win - a mark he did not reach last season until his 20th start. The 25-year-old righthander has three straight double-digit strikeout games, recording 36 in his last 21 innings. Peavy is 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA in five career starts against the Cardinals.

To get San Diego back on the winning track, the offense will need to start scoring some more runs. The Padres have managed just seven runs during their three-game skid and they have not lost four straight contests since August 14-17.

Kip Wells (1-6, 6.59) will try to put an end to a string of miserable outings for the Cardinals. He has given up at least seven runs in each of his last three starts and has given up 28 runs in 28 innings during a career-high five-start losing streak. St. Louis has won four of six after a season-high five-game losing streak.

Logo: Padres/MLB