San Francisco @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 2, 2016 ) San Francisco 5, Arizona 6

Both the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks have proven to be rude guests to one another recently, as the visiting team had won nine straight in this series until the Diamondbacks ended the run with a comeback victory on Saturday. Arizona will attempt to become the first of the two National League West rivals to win a home series against the other on Sunday, when it hosts the division-leading Giants.

The Diamondbacks used a three-run blast in the eighth inning by Welington Castillo to cap a five-run rally in Saturday's 6-5 triumph and halted a stretch in which the road team had claimed 25 of the previous 30 meetings. The win not only ended Arizona's six-game losing streak overall but also was a much-needed shot in the arm for a club that owns the second-worst home record in the majors at 14-29. The loss was equally rare for San Francisco, which had won 23 of its previous 31 away from home and still owns the best road mark in the majors at 27-16. The Giants (51-32) also missed out on their chance to move ahead of the NL-best Chicago Cubs (51-29) in the win column and tie the Texas Rangers (52-30) for the most victories in the majors.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN Arizona

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Albert Suarez (3-1, 3.83 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks LH Robbie Ray (4-7, 4.69)
Suarez continued to pitch decently in place of the injured Matt Cain on Tuesday, settling for a no-decision against Oakland after yielding three runs on three hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old has turned in remarkably similar outings in each of his five starts this season, lasting between 4 2/3 and 6 1/3 frames while giving up three runs each time. Suarez has yet to face Arizona, but he has struggled much more on the road (1-1, 5.03 ERA) than at home (2-0, 2.78).
Ray pitched through a blood blister Monday versus Philadelphia and took the loss after surrendering four runs and nine hits while fanning seven over six innings. The native of Tennessee did not issue a free pass for the first time all season and recorded at least six strikeouts for the seventh straight turn, yet he fell to 2-4 with a 5.91 ERA at home. Ray notched his first win of 2016 on April 19 at San Francisco, however, striking out eight across six scoreless innings.

WALK-OFFS
1. Giants 3B Conor Gillaspie, who sat out Saturday's loss after falling a homer short of the cycle a day earlier, is batting .447 over his last 13 games.
2. Arizona 3B Jake Lamb needs one more double and two more homers over the next week to become the fourth player in team history with at least 20 of each before the All-Star break.
3. Even with Saturday's setback, San Francisco has won 15 of its last 18 NL West contests.

PREDICTION: Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4