Arizona @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2010 ) Arizona 0, San Diego 5
The San Diego Padres are already as good as last season’s squad with a couple months to spar. Now they’ll try to show the rest of the league that they are for real.
The Padres improved to a National League-best 75-49 to matched last year’s win total while continuing their home dominance over the Arizona Diamondbacks with Tuesday’s 5-0 victory.
The win was the eighth in a row at Petco Park for the Padres over the Diamondbacks. They’ll have a chance to continue the streak when the squads meet in the second of a three-game set on Wednesday.
Clayton Richard tossed six shutout innings and Will Venable and Chris Denorfia each belted two-run home runs to lead the charge in the opener.
San Diego currently owns a 5 ½ game lead over San Francisco, which secured a win on Tuesday, in the NL West. The Padres haven’t won the division since 2006 and haven’t really poised serious threats to do so since then.
That has certainly changed. Just ask the Diamondbacks, who last won in San Diego on Sept. 15.
Drawing the start for the Padres is Wade LeBlanc (7-11, 3.85 ERA), who is coming off his second worst start of the season.
The left-hander was charged with seven runs in 3 1/3 innings of a 10-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Prior to that, he had won consecutive games by striking out 15 batters in a pair of quality starts.
LeBlanc will be eyeing his first career win against the Diamondbacks having taken three no-decisions in three starts against them after allowing six runs in 16.0 innings.
Not many of the Diamondbacks’ hitters has faced him extensively, with Mark Reynolds (3-for-6 with a home run) having the most success against him.
Opposing LeBlanc will be a pitcher in Joe Saunders (7-13, 4.54 ERA) that has struggled adjusting to life in the NL.
Outside of a complete game five-hitter, the left-hander has been pedestrian with the Diamondbacks in going 1-3 with a 4.24 ERA.
Saunders, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Dan Haren, hasn’t won in three starts and has given up 13 earned runs in that span.
The 29-year-old has made two career starts versus the Padres, boasting a record of 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA.
As a team, Arizona has dropped eight of 11. The Diamondbacks managed just five hits in Tuesday’s setback and have scored a combined three runs over their past three contests.