21 Jason Marquis, SP

Padres starting pitcher Jason Marquis earned a fifth straight win Monday against the Cardinals, posting a 2.27 ERA and .229 opponents' batting average in that span. It's the first time he's won five straight starts since 2007.

"Obviously, I got away with more mistakes probably a few years back, but I feel like I'm making better pitches in bigger situations now," Marquis said. "I've learned to slow the game down more than anything. Years past, when you're younger and you maybe have a little extra on your fastball, you tend to speed things up -- harder, harder, harder. I try to stay away from the big inning and learn to focus on that pitch at that particular moment instead of the big picture."

Padres starter Jason Marquis could have been more economical with his pitches Monday against the Cardinals. Still, he was able to patch enough together to earn the win. 

Marquis improved to 6-2 on the year with a 3.27 ERA as he allowed just two runs -- one earned -- around three hits and four walks. He threw 93 pitches and lasted just six innings despite the low hit total. Marquis struck out three. 

The 34-year-old has given up three earned runs in his last three starts over 19 innings despite nine walks. In fact, Marquis is on a five-start winning streak. Rolling since his last loss coming way back on April 22, Marquis makes his next start Sunday in Arizona. 

Jason Marquis is off to a fine start to the season, as he pushed his record to 5-2 Wednesday, with a 3.49 ERA. However, even while pitching half of his games in spacious Petco Park for the Padres, he cannot keep this up.

Marquis has just five more strikeouts (29) than walks (24), and has given up 1.47 home runs per nine innings, all signs that he simply will not continue this kind of success. His secret formula so far has been pretty simple; despite allowing 1.35 base runners per inning, four out of every five are being stranded. That is much higher than his 70.4 percent career strand rate, or the 66.3 percent mark he posted a year ago.

Marquis is also enjoying an unsustainably-low .234 batting average on balls in play. So much of Marquis' success has been out of his hands this season, and that simply cannot prove sustainable. I do not expect Marquis, who had a 5.15 ERA in his previous three seasons, to keep this kind of performance up.

Padres starting pitcher Jason Marquis allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings, leading San Diego to an 8-4 win Wednesday against the Orioles. Marquis, who struck out three, pitched into the sixth inning, but he was pulled after allowing a leadoff double to Chris Davis and walking Matt Wieters.

The only runs Baltimore scored off Marquis (5-2) came off solo home runs from Wieters and J.J. Hardy. Marquis' ERA actually rose a fraction from 3.48 to 3.49, but he has won four straight starts. He hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in any of those outings.

Marquis is slated to be back on the hill Monday against the Cardinals. Marquis is 5-2 with a 3.80 ERA in his career against St. Louis.