After a disappointing 2006 season, San Diego right-hander Jake Peavy is enjoying the kind of success that made him one of the National League's best pitchers in both 2004 and 2005. On Friday, the 2004 National League ERA champ became the first pitcher in franchise history to strike out 10 in four straight starts. He worked seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 in San Diego’s 7-0 win over the World Series champion Cardinals.

Peavy, who led the NL in strikeouts in 2005, fanned St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols twice and held him hitless in four trips to the plate.

“He was filthy out there,” Pujols said after the game. “Today was the first time I saw the ball real well against him and I still couldn’t get him.”

The 25-year-old right-hander’s run of double-digit strikeout performances began on April 25, when he tied the Padres’ franchise record with 16 strikeouts while working seven scoreless frames against Arizona. He allowed just two hits to the Diamondbacks, but the bullpen coughed up a 2-0 lead and the Padres lost 3-2. Since then, Peavy has fanned 10 batters in three straight games.

For the season, Peavy is 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA and a major league-leading 66 strikeouts in 53.2 innings.

One might say that Peavy is the poster boy for why pitchers may not want to participate in the World Baseball Classic during spring training. He pitched for the American team in the inaugural event in March 2006, after competing for an ERA title in 2005 and finishing with a 2.88 mark. He was 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA in his first five starts of 2006. He struggled mightily through June and July before getting it together in August and September. He went 6-4 and posted a 2.64 ERA over the final two months to finish 11-14 (4.09).

For pitchers, spring training involves getting mechanics and pitches in working order, things that take time and repetition.

“We’re routine-oriented people,” says Gary Lucas, a former big league pitcher who is a minor league pitching coach. “If you mess with that, the physical and mental preparation for a season is compromised. It’s an extremely competitive work environment.”

Peavy wasn’t the only WBC participant to scuffle in 2006, particularly at the onset of the season. Only six of the 25 pitchers who worked the international event posted ERAs below 4.00 over the first four weeks of the season. Among those who struggled in April were Johan Santana, Freddy Garcia, Esteban Loaiza, Miguel Batista, Gustavo Chacin, Oliver Perez, Bartolo Colon and Peavy. Most of them were back on track by the middle of May.

Colon, the reigning Cy Young Award winner last spring, made three starts for the Dominican Republic and worked a WBC-high 14 innings. He was 0-2 (7.07) in his first three starts for the Angels before landing on the disabled list in mid-April with shoulder inflammation. He made just 10 starts in all before a rotator cuff tear ended his season.

It’s impossible to document a direct link between working the WBC and regular-season performance or injuries, but the Padres might want to think twice about having their ace participate in the next event in 2009. As for Peavy in 2007, finishing first in the National League in ERA and strikeouts is a legitimate possibility once again. It’s great to see him return to the form that made him one of the best young pitchers in the game in 2004 and 2005.