SAN DIEGO -- If you press Chris Young's teammates, manager or pitching coach for any insights as to why the 27-year-old Padres pitcher is so successful, you will be bombarded with enough evidence to make your head spin.

The discussion will typically start with Young's mental makeup -- that cool demeanor on the mound, his steady pulse in good times and bad and that steely, unwavering gaze that's readily apparent in his each of his starts.

The talks inevitably turn to Young's physical makeup, his repertoire of pitches and his 6-foot-10 frame that led his college coach -- former Major League catcher Scott Bradley -- to say that Young was Greg Maddux trapped in Randy Johnson's body.

But should the topic turns to Young's uncanny ability to avoid losing on the road and the reasons for it, you'll be greeted with a smile and a shrug. Not just from his teammates, but from manager Bud Black, pitching coach Darren Balsley and even from the man who has gone 25 consecutive road starts without a loss.

A smile and a shrug. That's it.

"That's a very good question, and I've thought about it but I can't come up with anything," Balsley said after a long pause. "What he's done ... it doesn't happen very often. I can't tell you why. It's a very tough question. He's just a good pitcher."

Young's no-decision on April 4 against the Giants allowed him to tie the Major League record for the most consecutive road starts without a loss. It's a record that he shares with Allie Reynolds, who established the mark with the Yankees in 1948-49.

On Sunday, Young will attempt to make the record his own when he faces the Dodgers in an ESPN game at 5:05 p.m. PT, though he insists the streak doesn't register so much as even a blip on his radar of important things. The former Princeton standout would just as soon discuss quantum physics than the streak.

OK, bad analogy for an Ivy Leaguer, but you get it the point.

"Honestly ... had I lost one of those starts between now and then, we wouldn't be talking about it," Young said. "I really attribute a lot of it to luck. I've had a lot of games where I pitched poorly and came after with a no-decision or even a win."

The streak isn't really the point as much as it is Young's consistent ability to pitch away from home.

Granted, there haven't been too many clunkers since Young's streak started June 25, 2005, when he was still a member of the Texas Rangers. Since then, Young is 9-0 with 16 no-decisions while pitching away from home.

In 2006, Young -- who was acquired from Texas in January 2006 in the same deal that netted Adrian Gonzalez and Terrmel Sledge -- went 6-0 with a 2.41 ERA in 15 starts on the road. Impressive, when you consider opposing fans -- who are often hostile -- and ballpark dimensions that are, say, much more cozy than pitching-friendly PETCO Park.

Of course, Young's pitching played well just about anywhere he pitched last season. He led the National League in holding opposing batters to a .206 average and posted the best road ERA in the National League. No other pitcher in the league allowed fewer hits per nine innings (6.72) than Young did.

"To be able to get out consistently over and over again and keep your team in a ballgame on the road is a feat in itself, but to do that one the road like he has ... that's remarkable," Padres reliever Cla Meredith said.

Young took a no-hitter past five innings on three separate occasions, and was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals.

No wonder Padres general manager Kevin Towers worked feverishly over the last three weeks to work out a four-year deal for $14.5 million -- with a club option for the 2011 season -- with Young and his agent, Lon Babby. The deal was announced on Tuesday.

"He's one of the bright young pitching stars in the National League ... as well as all of baseball," Towers said. "He's a fresh arm, someone who hasn't pitched a great deal, but you wouldn't ever know that watching the way he approaches each and every game."

But why, exactly, has Young pitched so well and so consistently for so long on the road?

Black -- himself a former Major League pitcher -- thinks that where Young might have an advantage over others is more in the focus department than anything he throws.

"With him, maybe more than other pitchers, his focus on the road might be better," Black said. "He's such a clear thinker that maybe getting away from his home environment just doesn't bother him."

Young, for his part, either truly doesn't know why he pitches so well on the road or just isn't willing to say. And, of course, pitchers might be the most superstitious guys on the team, so talking about it at great length likely won't serve their cause well.

"It doesn't really matter where I'm pitching," Young said. "I have the same responsibility to make pitches and give my team a chance to win a game. It doesn't matter where that is, home, road or Spring Training. I think that it will, in time, probably even out."

Not that Young or the Padres want to talk about that, either.