first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Clay Hensley (1-1, 6.28 ERA) vs Brett Tomko (2-1, 4.70 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

Bar bet, guaranteed winner: The Padres have outhomered their opponents, 5-4, over the past 6 games. Yes, the home team has been outscored, 29-11, during that time and gone 1-5, but we’re talking home runs.

The team is hitting — be seated for this one — .167/.232/.269 over the same stretch. They’ve managed to pile up 50 total bases, which is also the number of strikeouts they’ve accumulated. That’s not good.

Who hasn’t been absolutely putrid on offense? Mike Piazza (.286/.375/.714 in 14 AB), Mark Bellhorn (.286/.286/.714 in 7 AB), and Khalil Greene (.214/.353/.357 in 14 AB — I said putrid, we’ve got real low standards here). The only other guy with an OPS above 600 over the past week is tonight’s starter, Clay Hensley, who singled in three at-bats on Sunday against the Mets. (He’s also got the Pads’ only victory in that time.)

The good news is that the starting pitching, with the bizarre exception of Jake Peavy, has looked very strong of late. Chris Young worked into the seventh Friday night and with any support picks up his third win of the season.

As noted, Hensley goes for the Friars Saturday night, hoping to build on the success of his first two starts and join an apparently healthy Young, as well as the resurgent Chan Ho Park and Woody Williams, in a rotation that is displaying a surprising level of competence in the early going. Hensley will face ex-Padre Brett Tomko, who continues to bounce around the National League doing his usual mid-4.00 ERA thing. Ordinarily I would say something mildly derogatory about Tomko here, but in light of the fact that the Padres have been getting dominated by much worse pitchers lately, I think I’ll pass.

The bats have been sleeping long enough. Time to wake them up and score some runs. Go Pads!