San Diego @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2010 ) Arizona 4, San Diego 6
The San Diego Padres have a great opportunity in front of them - a chance to pad their lead in the National League West with a series against one of the worst teams in the majors.
The Padres look to continue their solid road play tonight when they begin a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
With its lead in the NL West down to a single game, San Diego seized the opportunity to double it Thursday. After San Francisco already had lost to Atlanta, the Padres posted a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers to increase their advantage over the Giants to two games.
Kevin Correia scattered four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his 100th career start and Chris Denorfia hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run for San Diego, which won for the third time in five games. With the victory, the Padres improved their NL-best road record to 30-22.
San Diego has been victorious in six of its last nine road games. It is one of just three teams in the senior circuit which is over .500 away from home.
However, the Padres have not been very successful at Arizona lately, losing 12 of their last 16 visits - including two of three in April.
Former Diamondback Jon Garland has not fared well himself as a visitor in Chase Field, going 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in three outings. The right-hander is 4-5 with a 4.76 ERA in 10 road starts this season.
Garland has been effective of late, winning four of his last six decisions. On Sunday, he allowed three runs and five hits over six innings in a 5-4 victory over Florida.
In three starts against the Diamondbacks this year, Garland is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA. The 30-year-old owns a 3-2 record and 4.97 ERA in seven career outings vs. Arizona.
Garland has had difficulty against Arizona's Bobby Crosby and Stephen Drew over his career. Crosby is 11-for-29 (.379) with a home run and seven RBIs, while Drew is hitting .385 (5-for-13) with two blasts and three RBIs.
Arizona may have San Diego's number at home, but it has struggled against other teams. Entering this series, the Diamondbacks have lost six of their last eight games at Chase Field and have just 26 wins in 57 games here - the third-fewest amount of victories at home in the NL this season.
One of those wins came on Thursday, when Barry Enright limited Washington to two runs and six hits in six innings en route to an 8-4 triumph. Justin Upton drove in a pair of runs, Adam LaRoche went 3-for-5 and scored twice and Drew extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a 1-for-3 performance.
Taking the mound against San Diego is Daniel Hudson, who will be making his second start for Arizona since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox on July 30.
Obtained in the deal that sent Edwin Jackson to the Windy City, the 23-year-old Hudson pitched eight superb innings against the New York Mets, yielding just one run and three hits in a 14-1 triumph on Sunday. Hudson went 1-1 with a 6.32 ERA in three outings for the White Sox.