Colin Rea will make second MLB start Monday night
A winner in his major league debut, Colin Rea will try to extend the San Diego Padres' home dominance over the Atlanta Braves in his encore.
The Padres right-hander will also get to face a team that's struggled on the road for much of the last two months Monday night.
Rea (1-0, 5.40 ERA) gave up three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings Tuesday against Cincinnati and received ample support in an 11-6 victory.
"Obviously, I was a little nervous to start the game, but I settled in pretty good," he said. "We jumped out to an early lead, and I think that was huge. I just tried to put up zeroes afterward. It was just awesome."
Rea will try to follow by adding to the Padres' franchise-best seven consecutive home wins against Atlanta. San Diego (56-62) enters this three-game series having won four of six but lost 5-0 in Colorado on Sunday in its attempt at a three-game sweep.
The Braves (53-64) have dropped 21 of 26 on the road since June 16 but head into Petco Park after taking two of three from visiting Arizona this weekend. Former Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin homered in the 10th inning in a 2-1 victory Sunday and had two hits for the fourth consecutive game.
The Braves got Maybin on April 6 as part of a six-player deal that sent their all-time saves leader Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. to San Diego.
"(Maybin has) had a (heck) of a year so far," manager Fredi Gonzalez told MLB's official website. "I know there's still many games to play, but this guy can defend. ... He can steal you a bag, hit you a double, base hit, and if you make a mistake hit it out of the ballpark."
Kimbrel collected two of his 33 saves as San Diego split a four-game series at Atlanta from June 8-11.
Williams Perez (4-3, 4.21) was the winner in a 4-1 victory June 10, yielding one unearned run in seven innings but has lost his three starts since returning from a bruised left foot that kept him out for a month. The rookie right-hander allowed a combined 15 runs in 10 1-3 innings in the first two defeats before giving up two runs in a career-best eight innings of a 2-0 loss Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
"That was the best start since I got hurt. I felt very good," said Perez said. "Those first two starts were very tough, but I felt very strong about this start."
Cory Spangenberg, removed from the disabled list Friday, hit a pair of doubles off Perez in the loss in June and went 7 for 16 with three two-base hits in the series.
The Braves' Jace Peterson, acquired in another six-player deal with San Diego on Dec. 19 that sent Justin Upton to the Padres, was 7 for 17 in those four games.
Nick Markakis went 6 for 13 and is a .351 hitter in 14 games against San Diego. He's batting .330 with 13 RBIs in his last 24 overall contests.
