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(Sports Network) - The San Diego Padres and Houston Astros will open the 2008 season tonight in the first installment of a four-game series from Petco Park.

The Padres are coming off an 89-74 campaign and a third-place finish in the National League West Division. They were tied for the wild card lead at season's end and had a chance to clinch a third straight postseason appearance in a one-game playoff with Colorado. However, San Diego lost to the eventual NL-champion Rockies in 13 innings. Padres future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman surrendered three runs in the frame to dash the team's playoff hopes.

Hoffman, 40, is back for more and has a solid crop of pitchers with him, as the Padres send ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy to the mound on Monday night in front of the home crowd. Peavy, who will make his third straight start on Opening Day, led the league in wins, strikeouts and earned run average last season, compiling a 19-6 mark with a 2.54 ERA and 240 K's through 34 starts.

The right-hander is 6-4 lifetime with a 2.23 earned run average in 12 starts against the Astros. Peavy went 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against Monday's opponent last season.

New San Diego outfielder Jim Edmonds is on the disabled list and will miss tonight's game. Scott Hairston will start in his place at center.

Houston has missed the playoffs two straight years since winning the NL pennant in 2005 and finished with a 73-89 record last season. The Astros battled through a tumultuous season in which general manager Tim Purpura and manager Phil Garner were both relieved of their duties before the campaign ended. Cecil Cooper replaced Garner on an interim basis last season and is now the full-time manager. Former Phillies GM Ed Wade took over the same capacity in Houston and made an immediate splash by acquiring embattled shortstop Miguel Tejada in an offseason trade with Baltimore.

Tejada's name, however, showed up in the Mitchell Report just one day after the trade. He is also under investigation as to whether he lied in 2005 to congressional staff about the Rafael Palmeiro steroids case. He batted .296 with 18 homers and 81 runs batted in 133 games last year with the Orioles.

Wade also shipped oft-injured closer Brad Lidge to Philadelphia and acquired Jose Valverde from Arizona to replace him. Valverde led the majors with 47 saves last season.

Taking the hill for the Astros on Opening Day will be ace Roy Oswalt. Oswalt finished the 2007 campaign with a 14-7 record and a 3.18 ERA in 33 appearances (32 starts). The righty, who will begin the season on the mound for a franchise-record sixth time, owns a 7-1 mark with a 2.27 earned run average over 11 career games (nine starts) against the Padres.

Oswalt faced the Padres twice in 2007, going 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA.

Houston won the 2007 season series with San Diego by a 4-3 count after the teams split six meetings the year before.