Padres set to honor Gwynn, battle Phils

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle between 44-year-old left-handers is on tap for tonight as Jamie Moyer and the Philadelphia Phillies play the third of four straight games against David Wells and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The matchup of ageless wonders will be the second-oldest combined pitching matchup in league history, as Moyer and Wells sport a combined age of 88 years and 307 days.

That falls short of a June 8, 1987 meeting between Phil Niekro and Don Sutton, who were a combined age of 90 years and 135 days when they clashed.

Tonight's game will also mark the fifth time this season that Moyer has faced a pitcher over the age of 40. He has squared off against Randy Johnson (43) and Tom Glavine (41) twice each.

Moyer will attempt to halt a three-game losing streak tonight that includes a horrendous outing on Monday. Moyer was blitzed for 10 runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings of a 10-3 setback against the Dodgers. The defeat moved his record to 7-8 on the season while ballooning his earned run average to 4.99.

The longtime American League hurler has faced the Padres 13 times in his career and is 5-5 with a 4.35 ERA. He beat San Diego in his only start against them last year.

Wells, meanwhile, will put a personal four-game undefeated streak on the line with tonight's start. He is 2-0 over that span and defeated the New York Mets on Monday after limiting New York to one run and seven hits over six innings. The victory pushed the left-hander's record to 5-5 with a 4.15 ERA.

Currently appealing a seven-game suspension, Wells has made four career starts against the Phillies and is 2-1 against them with a 4.33 ERA.

Never shy of emotion himself, Wells will be pitching in front of an emotional Petco crowd, as the Padres are slated to hold a pregame ceremony to dedicate a statue of Hall of Fame inductee Tony Gwynn. Gwynn will be inducted into the Hall on July 29 along with Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr.

Gwynn spent 20 seasons with the Padres, who are honoring the 15-time All-Star all weekend with a variety of in-stadium giveaways. In that span, the outfielder tied a National League record with eight batting titles, matching Honus Wagner's mark.

Just the 17th player in league history to spend an entire career of 20-or-more seasons with one club, Gwynn, also known as "Mr. Padre", retired with a career batting average of .338 with 3,141 hits in 2,440 games.

The Padres could have used Gwynn on Friday, as the Phillies posted a 7-3 victory to even this series at one game apiece.

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard each went 2-for-4 in the victory, with Utley launching a two-run homer and Howard driving in a run of his own. It was just Philadelphia's second win in six games, but moved them back to .500 at 48-48.

Adam Eaton (9-6), making his first start against his former team, gave up just two runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to earn the win. He spent his first six seasons in San Diego before playing with Texas last year and then joining the Phils through free agency.

Adrian Gonzalez drove in a pair of runs for the Padres, who had won four of five coming into the contest. San Diego currently leads the National League West by just a percentage point over second-place Los Angeles.

Justin Germano (6-4) got the loss as he was charged with four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Catcher Josh Bard will be eligible to return from his two-game suspension tonight. Bard's suspension came after he made contact with an umpire back on May 31 in Pittsburgh.

San Diego and Philadelphia are meeting for the first time with this series since the Padres won four of six games during the 2006 campaign. The Phillies, though, are 14-6 in their last 20 matchups with San Diego.

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