Just when you think things couldn’t get worse for the San Diego Padres, they enter a 3-game series tonight with the Diamondbacks having lost 7 in a row, including a 3-game sweep at the hands of the highly mediocre San Francisco Giants. The Diamondbacks also got a sweep against the Padres last week, taking 3 at Chase Field. Like they have on the entire National League West, the D-Backs have feasted on the Padres this season, going 10-5, including a 4-2 mark at Petco Park. The series gets underway with a rematch of last week’s marquee pitching matchup of Arizona’s Dan Haren and San Diego’s Jake Peavy. The two met on the mound last week in Phoenix, and a pitching duel was greatly anticipated, but the Diamondbacks ended up winning a wild 8-6 game that featured 10 total runs in the first two innings. I wouldn’t expect a high scoring affair tonight.

Here’s a closer look at both teams…

San Diego Padres (48-82, 5th place in NL West, 20 games behind Arizona)

Manager: Bud Black (2nd year with Padres, 135-156)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Brian Giles, .291

Runs: Adrian Gonzalez, 76

Hits: Adrian Gonzalez, 139

HR: Adrian Gonzalez, 28

RBI: Adrian Gonzalez, 92

SB: Tadahito Iguchi, 8

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Greg Maddux, 153.1

Wins: Jake Peavy, 9

ERA: Jake Peavy, 2.84

Strikeouts: Jake Peavy, 2.84

Saves: Trevor Hoffman, 26

Bottom Line:The nightmare that is 2008 continues in San Diego for manager Bud Black. The Padres rank 14th in the NL in batting average and 15th in runs scored. They have the unfortunate combination of a weak-hitting lineup that plays home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. For instance, their best offensive player, Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .314 with 18 hrs and 54 rbis away from Petco, and only .238 with 10 homers and 38 rbis at home. Kevin Kouzmanoff hits 62 points higher on the road. Brian Giles’ is batting 49 points higher on the road. You get the idea.

The Padres appear to be a team just playing out the string, as they are 11-24 after the All-Star break, and are on pace to lose 100 games in a season for the first time since 1993. This comes on the heels of a streak of 5 straight winning seasons, that included 2 division titles in 2005 and 2006. Not to mention 2007, when they were on track for a third-straight playoff appearance before losing to Colorado in a one-game playoff to determine the National League Wildcard winner. And to make matters worse, the Padres will face three of the hottest pitchers in the National League in Dan Haren, Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson. Yeah, I think nightmare is the right word to describe this team.

San Diego’s vs. Arizona

Tonight: Jake Peavy (2008: 9-9, 2.84 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 11-11, 4.88 ERA)

Tuesday: Chad Reineke (2008: 1-1, 4.91 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-1, 4.50 ERA)

Wednesday: Cha Seung Baek (2008: 4-8, 4.97 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 1-1, 3.48 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (68-62, 1st place in NL West, 3 games ahead of Los Angeles)

Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 311-306)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Orlando Hudson, .305

Runs: Mark Reynolds, 79

Hits: Stephen Drew, 139

HR: Mark Reynolds, 24

RBI: Mark Reynolds, 85

SB: Chris Young, 10

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Brandon Webb, 184

Wins: Brandon Webb, 19

ERA: Brandon Webb, 2.74

Strikeouts: Dan Haren, 160

Saves: Brandon Lyon, 25

Bottom Line: The Diamondbacks lost their series to the Marlins over the weekend, but were still able to pick up a game in the standings over the Dodgers, who have lost 3 in a row Philadelphia. This is an important 3-game series for the Diamondbacks. It is a chance to really put some ground between themselves and the Dodgers, who continue their road trip with one more game in Philadelphia today, then on to Washington before coming to the Valley for a crucial three-gamer this weekend. Theoretically, if the Diamondbacks take care of business against the Padres and Dodgers, they really might be able to sew this thing up by week’s end; or at least give themselves a big enough cushion for the stretch run.

The big concern has to be the bullpen, namely closer Brandon Lyon. Lyon got hit hard again on Sunday in a non-save situation. His ERA since the All-Star break is over 12.00. A lot of Diamondbacks’ fans are wondering how long Bob Melvin will be able to stay with Lyon as the closer in such a tight race. On Tuesday, Brandon Webb will try to reach 20 wins for the first time in his career. He would also become only the third Diamondback pitcher to reach the 20-win plateau, joining Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling who each won 20+ in 2001 and 2002.

Arizona’s pitchers vs. San Diego:

Tonight: Dan Haren (2008: 14-6, 3.12 ERA; career vs. Padres: 3-1, 2.72 ERA)

Tuesday: Brandon Webb (2008: 19-4, 2.74 ERA; career vs. Padres: 6-7, 3.42 ERA)

Wednesday: Randy Johnson (2008: 10-9, 4.03 ERA; career vs. Padres: 16-5, 2.40 ERA)

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