(Best E Casino) - As brutal a first half the San Diego Padres have endured, things really could be worse. After all, the club could be residing in the American League's West division.

The interleague portion of the Padres' schedule has turned out to a killer stretch for Bud Black's squad, which had been showing signs of turning the corner prior to its current block of games against AL teams. After being dealt a 4-3 defeat by the scorching Minnesota Twins on Thursday, San Diego fell to a major league-worst 3-12 in interleague play this season.

Thursday's setback was the Padres' fifth straight loss and ninth in their last 10 games, all of which have come against members of the AL. The particularly troubling aspect of the skid is that it's come right after San Diego had been playing its best ball of the season, as the current NL West basement-dwellers had ripped off seven victories in eight tries heading into the interleague phase.

"I don't think there's anything to point to specifically why it's happening," said Black after Wednesday's 9-3 loss to the Twins. "We're just not playing well enough to win right now."

That horrid mark against the Junior Circuit wouldn't be so bad had the Padres been able to finish out what they started. San Diego wasted early three-run leads in the final two games of the Minnesota series. In Tuesday's opener, the Twins came through with a 3-1 decision when legendary Pads closer Trevor Hoffman gave up back-to-back solo home runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.

San Diego's interleague struggles are certainly frustrating, but the team's lack of success against the AL is really nothing new. The Padres have compiled a losing interleague record in 11 of the 12 years since the advent of the concept and are just 83-108 all-time in such games. San Diego has lost seven straight series to AL teams dating back to last season.

After beginning their current homestand with matchups against Detroit and Minnesota -- two of baseball's hottest teams at the moment -- the Padres appear to get a breather when Seattle comes to Petco Park for a three-game set this weekend. The Mariners have the worst record in the majors at 28-50.

Then again, San Diego did lose two of three encounters with the Mariners in Seattle last month.

YOUNG MAKING PROGRESS

Injured starting pitcher Chris Young appears to moving closer to an eventual return to the mound. The towering right-hander has been throwing regular bullpen sessions of approximately 40 pitchers and is scheduled to toss a simulated game this Saturday.

Young has been sidelined since being hit in the face by a hard line drive off the bat of St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols in a May 21 game against the Cardinals. He suffered a broken nose as a result of the scary incident.

The 2007 All-Star is slated to undergo surgery to repair his septum this Monday, but the procedure isn't expected to stall his recovery process. If all goes well, the Padres are hopeful Young can return to the rotation shortly after the All-Star break.

In other team injury news, the Padres official site reported on Wednesday that second baseman Tadahito Iguchi's rehab from a separated right shoulder is moving ahead of schedule. The Japanese veteran hurt himself while running the bases in a 2-1 home victory over the New York Mets on June 5.

Iguchi still remains several weeks away from rejoining the lineup, and the Padres probably aren't in a rush to get him back anyway. Minor-league journeyman Edgar Gonzalez has proven to be a more than capable replacement at second base, having hit .299 in 107 at-bats since being brought up from Triple-A in mid-May.

Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff was back in action for the Minnesota series after sitting out six straight contests with an irritated disc in his lower back. The layoff didn't have a negative effect on the 26-year-old, who went 4- for-12 with an RBI triple over the three games.

NOT JUST YET

The Padres had reportedly come to an agreement this week with their first- round selection in this year's draft, Wake Forest first baseman Allan Dykstra, but have yet to finalize the deal because of medical concerns.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres want to further research a hip problem that required surgery while Dykstra was in high school. The team was aware of the procedure prior to drafting the 21-year-old San Diego native, and Dykstra did not miss any significant time during his three years with the Demon Deacons.

Dykstra, the 23rd overall pick, and the Padres had agreed to a $1.4 million signing bonus. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-handed hitter ranks among Wake Forest's all-time leaders with 49 career home runs.

WHO'S HOT

Kouzmanoff is currently riding a six-game hitting streak and has batted .400 (10-for-25) with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBI during the tear. The third baseman ranks second among San Diego hitters with 10 homers and 34 RBI this season.

Since coming back from a month-long stint on the disabled list with a strained elbow, staff ace Jake Peavy has allowed just four earned runs in 16 innings over a trio of starts. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner held Minnesota to one run and five hits while striking out six over six frames in Tuesday's 3-1 loss.

WHO'S NOT

Greg Maddux's string of winless outings resumed when the future Hall of Famer was roughed up for seven runs (6 earned) in 5 2/3 innings in Wednesday's loss to the Twins. The 42-year-old has now gone nine starts without a victory since obtaining career win No. 350 against Colorado on May 10. Maddux has recorded three losses and six no decisions over that span.

Outfielder Paul McAnulty is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and is now batting just .211 on the year. Rookie Chase Headley has cooled off after an impressive start at the plate immediately following his June 17 recall from the minors, as the switch-hitting prospect is just 2-for-16 over his last four games.

ON DECK

San Diego gleefully wraps up interleague play with a three-game home series with Seattle that begins Friday. Randy Wolf (5-6, 4.09) gets the assignment for the Padres in the opener opposite Jarrod Washburn (2-7, 5.52), with ex- Mariner Cha Seung Baek (1-3, 5.27) set to face his former team and Carlos Silva (3-9, 5.92) on Saturday. The finale pits Peavy (5-4, 2.77) against Seattle standout Erik Bedard (4-4, 3.97).

The Padres get back into action against divisional foes next week, when San Diego visits both Colorado and Arizona.