Colin Rea to make first major league start Tuesday

A matchup with the Cincinnati Reds gave the San Diego Padres just what they needed to end one of their longest losing streaks of the season.

Colin Rea will now try to help San Diego add to its recent dominance against Cincinnati in his major league debut Tuesday night.

The Padres (53-60) had matched a season high by dropping six in a row before a 2-1 win in Monday's opener against the visiting Reds (49-61).

Justin Upton's fourth-inning homer scored both runs to give San Diego its eighth win in 10 games against Cincinnati since the beginning of last season. The Padres have also claimed the last four home meetings against the Reds, who have lost five of six overall.

Rea will try to extend that run in his first big league start. The right-hander's most recent appearance in a major league stadium was July 12 in the All-Star Futures Game in Cincinnati. Rea got the final two outs for the U.S. team in a 10-1 rout of the World squad.

"I am obviously nervous and excited at the same time," he told MLB's official website. "I just want to go out there and compete. Just kind of take it like another start and do whatever I can to help the team win."

Padres interim manager Pat Murphy indicated Rea won't have a predetermined innings or pitch threshold in his seventh start beyond Double-A.

"We are not going to let him out there to dry, but he's been starting all year and he's in shape to go as long as he needs to go," Murphy said. "(We are) not going to put a limit on it. It's his first major league start, you know, so you have to be mindful of that and all the things that come with that."

Rea will be opposed by Michael Lorenzen (3-7, 4.84), who is 0-5 with an 8.04 ERA in his last six starts. The rookie right-hander yielded three runs and walked four over five innings in a 3-0 loss to St. Louis on Thursday.

Lorenzen has given out 22 free passes in his past 33 2-3 innings, allowing opponents to register a .404 on-base percentage.

"It's easy to overlook the fact that he's a young, inexperienced major league pitcher," manager Bryan Price said. "He's got a lot of room to grow."

Lorenzen allowed three runs in six innings in his only start against San Diego on June 6 and was denied a win when the Padres bullpen gave up six runs in a 9-7 loss.

Matt Kemp's solo homer and a two-run double against him in that game were among his season-high five RBIs. Yonder Alonso had two singles in three at-bats.

Jay Bruce hit his 200th career homer for Cincinnati in Monday's loss.