Padres On Deck: Houston

Houston (0-0) at San Diego (0-0), 7:05 pm. 4SD, ESPN2

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The first task for the new-look Houston Astros on Opening Day: solve reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy. Bolstered by the addition of Miguel Tejada, the Astros eye their first win against Peavy in two seasons when they travel to Petco Park to face the San Diego Padres in the season opener for both teams tonight at Petco Park.


With 19 wins, a 2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts last season, Peavy became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2002 to lead the NL in all three categories. Peavy dominated his two starts against the Astros last season, going 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 19 strikeouts. Peavy has not lost to the Astros since a 1-0 setback on August 1, 2006. For Houston, finding offense against any pitcher proved to be a chore last season.

With 723 runs scored, the Astros were the seventh-worst offense in the majors. Looking to boost its anemic offense, the Astros traded five players to Baltimore in December for Tejada, a four-time All-Star and the 2002 American League MVP. They hope his presence can fortify the middle of the lineup that includes Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman. Houston also added fleet-footed outfielder Michael Bourn to bat leadoff and signed free agent second baseman Kaz Matsui to shore up the lower part of the lineup. However, Matsui will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list.

The Padres' offense was only slightly better than Houston's last season, scoring 741 runs. Unlike the Astros, San Diego did little in the offseason to increase their run production. The Padres were in position to capture the NL wild card last year, but dropped their final two games to the Milwaukee Brewers, then dropped a 9-8, 13-inning thriller to the Colorado Rockies in the wild-card playoff game.

Opposing Peavy will be Houston ace Roy Oswalt, who hopes to rebound from a sub-par season by his standards. Oswalt won just 14 games last year - the second fewest of his career - and his ERA of 3.18 was his highest mark since 2004.