The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a rough time with the San Diego Padres for nearly three years.
Fresh off their first sweep in over two months, the Pirates look to start changing that Thursday night when they open a four-game series against the lowly Padres.
The Pirates will give Yoslan Herrera (0-1, 19.50 ERA) his third career start in place of Phil Dumatrait, who is on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder.
Herrera was pounded again Saturday, giving up seven runs and eight hits while hitting a batter in 1 2-3 innings of a 7-1 loss at Colorado. That performance came after the Cuban right-hander was hit hard in his major league debut, allowing six runs and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings of a 12-11, 10-inning win over St. Louis on July 12.
The Padres will turn to a reliever to start a game, as Clay Hensley (1-0, 0.00) replaces Randy Wolf in the rotation after Wolf was traded to Houston on Tuesday for right-hander Chad Reineke.
Hensley, getting his first start since Aug. 25 of last year, has been impressive in three relief outings, allowing one hit in five scoreless innings. He pitched two innings to earn the win in Monday's 6-4 victory at Cincinnati.
The right-hander went 2-3 with a 7.17 ERA in nine starts last season before undergoing shoulder surgery in September. He's 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in two games - one start - against the Pirates.
The Padres have a spot on their roster and will add a player Thursday before opening a four-game series in Pittsburgh.
Who will it be?
The best guess is right-handed starting pitcher Chris Young, who has been on the disabled list since he was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Albert Pujols on May 21.
Young made a second rehab start with Class A Lake Elsinore on Monday and is scheduled to make his next appearance Saturday. Young was originally scheduled to make three rehab starts, but Padres manager Bud Black said Young "is ready" to rejoin the varsity rotation.
A spot opened up Tuesday when the Padres traded left-handed starter Randy Wolf (6-10, 4.78 ERA) to Houston for Class AAA starter Chad Reineke. Right-hander Clay Hensley will be starting in Wolf's slot Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Before Wednesday's game in Cincinnati, the Padres purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Wil Ledezma from Class AAA Portland to fill Wolf's spot on the roster. But immediately after the game, LHP Joe Thatcher was optioned to Portland, creating another opening.
REDS 9, PADRES 5: Why was Joe Thatcher demoted? It could be that he served up a grand slam to Adam Dunn on Wednesday afternoon in Cincinnati, capping an outing in which Thatcher allowed five runs on five hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Greg Maddux made his 14th straight start without a win, although he left the game with the Padres leading. Not for long, however, as Cla Meredith came in and immediately served up a homer to put the Reds ahead to stay. The loss was the eighth in nine games for the Padres, who are 7-25 over their last 32 games.
--LHP Joe Thatcher was optioned to Class AAA Portland on Wednesday afternoon for the fourth time this season. Thatcher was sent out soon after giving up five runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning, capped by a grand slam by Cincinnati's Adam Dunn. Thatcher, who allowed homers in three of his past four appearances, gave up seven runs on nine hits in just 4 1/3 innings over six appearances in the most recent of his four stints with the Padres this season.
--RHP Greg Maddux just can't get a win with the Padres. Wednesday marked his 14th straight start with the Padres without a victory, dating back to May 10, when he picked up the 350th win of his career. Maddux is 0-5 in the 14-start drought. Wednesday marked the fifth time during the 14-game run that he walked off the mound with the lead. "I haven't won, but I feel like I've been playing well," said Maddux. He is 0-5 with a 4.54 ERA since his last win.
--RHP Cla Meredith served up a two-run homer to Edgar Encarnacion to blow the lead for RHP Greg Maddux. Padres relievers have allowed inherited runners to score 48.6 percent of the time this season.
--3B Kevin Kouzmanoff was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, giving him two homers and 11 RBIs over the last eight games (12-for-33).
--2B Edgar Gonzalez struck out as a pinch hitter, ending a six-game hitting streak in which he had had at least two hits in every game (14-for-27).
BY THE NUMBERS: 4 -- Players in the Padres starting lineup July 20 in St. Louis who began the season with Class AAA Portland -- LF Chase Headley, 1B Brian Myrow, C Nick Hundley and SS Luis Rodriguez.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We definitely missed in our evaluation of some players this season." -- Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, in what is the understatement of the major league season.