(Best E Casino) - San Diego staff ace Jake Peavy can get his lifetime record against Colorado to .500 tonight, when the Padres visit the Rockies in the opener of a three-game weekend series at Coors Field.

The Padres come in buried deep in the National League West Division standings at 44-71, while the defending league champion Rockies are on the fringes of contention at 52-65, eight games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

Peavy, who's 4-4 with two no-decisions in his last 10 overall starts, is 4-5 lifetime against the Rockies with a 4.08 earned run average in 97 innings of work.

He's faced them twice this season without tangible success, getting a no- decision in a 2-1 loss on April 17 and dropping a 4-2 verdict on May 9, in which he allowed seven hits and three runs in six innings.

The 27-year-old right-hander is 4-3 in nine road starts this season, including a 3-1 triumph at Pittsburgh on July 27 in his last away outing.

Journeyman right-hander Glendon Rusch makes his eighth appearance with the Rockies, his second team of 2008, this evening.

Rusch actually began the season with San Diego and made 12 appearances out of the bullpen with the Padres, allowing 22 hits and 14 earned runs over 19 2/3 innings of work.

The Rockies are his sixth major league team since he initially broke in with the Kansas City Royals in 1997. Rusch's most prolific seasons came with the New York Mets, with whom he won 11 and 10 games in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

Rusch is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 33 innings with Colorado this season and is unbeaten in six overall appearances since a May 31 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

San Diego comes in off Thursday's tough loss at New York. David Wright's two- out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning pushed the Mets over the Padres, 5-3, in the finale of a three-game set from Shea Stadium.

Chase Headley and Jody Gerut homered for the Padres, who have dropped four of six.

Heath Bell (6-5) took the loss after allowing Wright's home run. San Diego starter Josh Banks allowed nine hits and three runs while striking out four and walking one over five-plus frames.

Colorado hopes to rebound after suffering a doubleheader sweep at home to Washington on Thursday. Wil Nieves and Willie Harris drove in two runs apiece to give the Nationals a 6-3 victory over the Rockies in the nightcap.

Washington also won the opener by a 6-3 score.

Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez (8-10) broke his streak of four consecutive wins in the finale and failed to record a quality start for the first time in eight outings dating back to June 27. The right-hander went only five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits while striking out four and walking six.

Garrett Atkins batted 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run homer, while Troy Tulowitzki added two hits in Colorado's fourth defeat in six games.

Colorado has won five of nine against San Diego this season.