Arizona @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( May 3, 2013 ) Arizona 6, San Diego 7

The San Diego Padres will try to continue their upward trend Saturday when they host the spiraling Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle game of their three-game series. The Padres have won seven of nine since their 5-15 start, including a 7-6 victory in Friday’s series opener. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have lost four in a row to drop from second to third in the National League West. The losing streak is the longest since Arizona dropped six in a row in August, which began with a three-game sweep by the Padres.

Padres rookie second baseman Jedd Gyorko had the first three-hit game of his career Friday. He had more hits in April (23) than any rookie in the majors and the second-most walks (10). Another good sign for San Diego is catcher Yonder Alonso, who has four home runs in 28 games after hitting nine in 155 last season. The Diamondbacks hope their No. 1 catcher is finding his groove. Miguel Montero hit his first home run since April 2 on Friday and matched his career high with three runs scored.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, MLB Network, Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (3-0, 1.91 ERA) vs. Padres LH Clayton Richard (0-3, 7.94)

The Diamondbacks have won every game Corbin has started this season and he has put them in good position by pitching at least six innings in each start and not allowing more than two runs in any of the appearances. Corbin hasn’t been as strong against the Padres in his young career. He made three appearances (two starts) against San Diego last season and went 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA. Corbin will need to be careful against Padres outfielder Chris Denorfia, who has two home runs in six at-bats against the left-hander. Another outfielder, Jesus Guzman, has faced Corbin twice and homered once.

When it comes to statistics, Richard is almost the complete opposite of Corbin. The Padres have lost four of the five games he has started this season, but he’s 6-0 in eight career starts against the Diamondbacks with a 4.06 ERA. Richard needs a good performance to keep the naysayers from demanding he be sent down to the minors or dealt to another team. Richard strung together two good starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies last month, but couldn’t get out of the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers and gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-3 loss Monday against the Chicago Cubs.

WALK-OFFS

1. Diamondbacks SS Didi Gregorius is expected to be activated for Saturday’s game after missing a week with a concussion.

2. Arizona OF Gerardo Parra has hit safely in 24 of 28 games this season

3. The Padres are 4-0 in one-run games during their recent surge.

PREDICTION: Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3