San Francisco @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2010 ) San Francisco 6, Arizona 3
Now that it appears Tim Lincecum has rediscovered his Cy Young form, the San Francisco Giants’ hopes at a postseason bid have greatly improved.
If only Barry Zito could find his top form, then the Giants could be a lock for a berth.
San Francisco continues its pursuit of the playoffs when the team goes for the three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at Chase Field.
Lincecum struck out 11 batters in 6 2/3 innings, putting a brutal August in which he went 0-5 behind him, as the Giants kept pace with the Padres in securing a 6-3 triumph on Tuesday.
San Diego, which had dropped 10 in a row and saw its lead dwindle, has won consecutive games - including a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday - to maintain their one-game lead over the Giants in the National League West.
San Francisco (78-61) has won four straight and six of seven to gain ground in the division. They also are just a game behind Atlanta in the race for the NL wild card.
The Giants will need Zito (8-11, 4.18 ERA) to turn things around when he takes the ball in the rubber match in search of his first win since July 16.
Since tossing eight shutout innings against the New York Mets in a 1-0 victory, the left-hander is 0-7 in 10 appearances. He hasn’t necessarily been horrible each time out, but his offense has failed to give him much in the way of run support in that stretch.
Zito will be making his second start against Arizona in just over a week’s time. He was tagged for nine runs - seven earned - in 3 2/3 innings of work in an 11-3 setback on Aug. 28.
The Giants got home runs from Freddy Sanchez, Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff on Tuesday, something Zito hopes the offense supplies for him.
Arizona made a tough decision at the trade deadline, choosing to deal the promising Edwin Jackson to the pitching-needy Chicago White Sox. In return, the Diamondbacks received 23-year-old right-hander Daniel Hudson (5-2, 3.03 ERA) and it’s safe to say they’ve been pleased to this point.
Hudson has gone six-plus innings in each of his seven starts with his new club, going 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in the process. He was on the winning end of Arizona’s beat down of Zito, tossing seven effective frames to grab the win.
The Diamondbacks got a two-run homer from Chris Young - his 24th - in Tuesday’s defeat.