were in the cellar of the NL West. In his sophomore season, Peavy started 32 games (194.2 IP), with a 4.11 earned run average, a 12–11 record, and 156 strikeouts. The Padres finished last in their division again at a 64–98 record. During his third year of major league experience in 2004, Peavy emerged as the Padres' ace starting pitcher and one of the best pitchers in baseball. He compiled a 15–6 record, struck out 173 in 166 innings, and led Major League Baseball with a 2.27 ERA. He became the youngest pitcher to win an ERA title since Dwight Gooden in 1985. On September 17, 2004, Peavy allowed Barry Bonds' 700th career home run. On March 5, 2005, he signed a four-year, $14.5 million contract and held a club option for 2009 extension with the Padres. During the 2005 season, Peavy was selected for the National League All-Star team and ended the regular season leading the National League in strikeouts with 216 (in 203 innings). He was second in the majors to Minnesota's Johan Santana who had 238 strikeouts. In addition, he finished the season with a 13–7 record, 2.88 ERA, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 4:1 and WHIP of 1.044. After the Padres won the National League West in 2005, Peavy missed the rest of the season with a broken rib, which he apparently suffered while celebrating. Peavy was the captain of Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, held in San Diego. He started the opening game for the U.S., a 2–0 win over Mexico, giving up just one hit and no runs over three innings. He did not factor in the decision in the second-round game against Japan, as he gave up three runs in five innings in a game that the U.S. won, 4–3. In 2006, Peavy got off to a rocky start, in part due to mechanical adjustments brought on by various off-season injuries. Although Peavy would go only 11–14 with a 4.09 ERA, he still managed to finish second in the National League in strikeouts with 215, one shy of both his 2005 league-leading total and of the 2006 NL strikeout leader, Aaron Harang, who logged 32 more innings than Peavy. In the playoffs, the Padres again faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round. As the game one starter, Peavy had a much stronger outing than his 2005 playoff game,