Los Angeles @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2010 ) LA Dodgers 3, Arizona 1

Two rookie pitchers trying to salvage once-promising campaigns that have headed in the wrong direction will square off when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks begin a three-game series tonight at Chase Field.

Dodgers right-hander Joe Ely and Diamondbacks righty Barry Enright will take the mound tonight looking for something positive to build on for their sophomore seasons.

Six of Ely's first seven outings this season were quality starts, including two against Arizona. He beat the Diamondbacks on May 11 at Chase Field, holding them to two runs over six innings and he tossed seven scoreless fames June 1 in Los Angeles but didn't factor in the decision in a 1-0 victory.

Ely's promising rookie season took a wrong turn in mid-June, and he's lost seven of his last eight major-league decisions with a stint in the minors sandwiched between.

The 24-year-old Ely's last major-league win came June 29 in San Francisco, when he held the Giants to one run over seven innings. He has only one quality start in four big-league outings since.

He returned to the Dodgers on Sept. 11 and Ely (4-8, 5.00 ERA) held the Astros to three runs over six innings but settled for a no-decision in a 6-3 win. He didn't fare as well his last time out, giving up six runs over 4 1/3 innings in a 12-2 loss to Colorado.

Right about the time Ely's rookie year was going south, the 24-year-old right-hander Enright was getting him impressive rookie campaign started.

Enright (6-5, 3.87 ERA) began his major-league career with eight quality starts in his first 12 outings. He had a 6-2 record and ERA to 2.45 on Sept. 1, but his last three outings have gotten progressively worse and he has lost three straight starts and has compiled a 12.08 ERA during that stretch.

Enright will get his first look at the Dodgers, who have lost six of eight while hitting .209 and plating just 2.4 runs over their past nine games.

Los Angeles did just enough at the plate Thursday night to beat the Padres 3-1, as Andre Ethier had two hits and drove in two runs.

After losing eight of 10 on their most recent road trip, the last-place Diamondbacks are trying to make the most of their final home stand of the season. They opened the six-game stretch with a three-game sweep of Colorado, winning 10-9 on Thursday.

Stephen Drew, Kelly Johnson and Chris Young all homered in the win, giving Arizona its 18th game this season with three or more home runs. Johnson has hit .375 with five homers and 10 RBIs over his past eight games. Drew is hitting .395 with two homers and seven RBIs over his past 10 games.