first pitch: 5:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (7-2, 2.89 ERA) vs Andy Pettitte (5-7, 3.15 ERA)
previews: CBS | Padres.com

Fugly game Tuesday. Shut down by Brandon Backe? Lit up by a team with the worst slugging percentage in all of baseball? Like I said, fugly. I changed the channel after Brian Falkenborg served up a three-run homer to Jason Lane in the fifth. That pitch was fatter than the chocolate cakes I ended up watching Alton Brown make.

Thank you, I’ll be here all my life.

Peavy is scheduled to start tonight but may be a no-go due to “symptoms of strep throat.” If Peavy can’t make the start, the Padres will bring up Justin Germano to pitch tonight. (The linked article also notes that Dennys Reyes or Pedro Astacio will get the final start before the All-Star break. Germano? Reyes? Astacio? I don’t think this was the plan.)

Anyway, we’ll be optimistic and assume that Peavy will make his start:

                            AB   BA  OBP  SLG
Peavy vs current Astros     85 .212 .327 .318
Pettitte vs current Padres  77 .273 .325 .390

For the Astros, it’s been Jose Vizcaino (.500/.500/1.000 in 12 AB) and Craig Biggio (.400/.471/.400 in 15 AB) doing the damage. Peavy has completely shut down Brad Ausmus (.100/.250/.100 in 10 AB) and Lance Berkman (.077/.294/.077 in 13 AB, with 7 SO).

On the other side, Robert Fick (.286/.375/.571 in 14 AB) is the only Padre who has had any success against Pettitte. Of course, Pettitte is a lefty so there’s a decent chance we’ll see Miguel Ojeda behind the dish. Pettitte also has been extremely tough at home this year, limiting the opposition to a paltry .224/.251/.341.

Amazingly, the Padres still lead the division by 4 1/2 games. I was really hoping the Friars would have pulled away and given folks in other parts of the country a new team to talk about. Instead, they’re all talking about how lousy the NL West is. And can you blame them?