New York @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2010 ) NY Yankees 4, Arizona 10

The Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled against almost everyone this season, but they showed they won’t lie down against the mighty New York Yankees on Monday.

Justin Upton and the struggling Diamondbacks seek a second straight win over the league-leading Yankees on Tuesday when the teams continue a three-game series.

Arizona (28-43) is sure to be a seller when the July 31 trade deadline rolls around. The Diamondbacks played like contenders on Monday, however, when Upton led them to a 10-4 rout of the reigning world champions.

Upton went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored. While Arizona has been abysmal in every other aspect of the game this season, the Diamondbacks have shown they can hit the long ball. Arizona is fourth in baseball with 85 homers.

Upton, Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds each homered in a five-run first inning off slumping hurler A.J. Burnett on Monday.

Andy Pettitte (8-2, 2.47 ERA) is in charge of slowing the Diamondbacks’ powerful lineup.

Pettitte, who turned 38 last week, seems to be shunning Father Time with the same ease he picks off runners at first. The 16-year veteran’s 2.47 ERA is tops on the team and fourth in the American League.

The left-hander is looking to bounce back from just his second loss of the season. He lost on Thursday despite allowing two earned runs and six hits in seven innings of a 7-1 setback to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pettitte is 2-5 with a 4.24 ERA against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona will counter with Dan Haren (7-5, 4.71), who will be one of the first players mentioned in trade talks if the woeful Diamondbacks decide to have a fire sale come July. Haren has thrown over 200 innings in each of the last five years, posting an ERA of under 4.00 in all but one of those seasons.

The right-hander allowed four earned runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of an 8-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. He is 4-0 with a 3.77 ERA in seven starts against New York.

Mark Teixeira is one of the few Yankees that have had success against Haren. He is hitting .261 (6-for-23) with three homers and eight RBIs against the hurler.

Teixeira will try to help the Yankees rebound from their fourth loss in six games. He had an RBI single in Monday’s defeat, giving him 11 RBIs in his last 13 games.

The Yankees, who are 7-6 in interleague play, are making just their second regular-season trip to Arizona since losing the 2001 World Series in seven games.