San Francisco @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2015 ) San Francisco 2, Arizona 1

Patrick Corbin continues to progress in his return from Tommy John surgery, and it appears the Arizona Diamondbacks will have their ace left-hander in peak form and back at the top of the rotation in 2016. Corbin is 3-0 in his last seven starts and takes his next step toward full strength Monday when Arizona hosts the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a three-game series.

"There's just some ups and downs in this process now, which is hard to take, but (Tuesday) felt good," Corbin, who missed all of 2014, told reporters after a 6-4 victory in Colorado. San Francisco gained a split of a four-game series with a 7-4 victory in Colorado on Sunday to remain 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and eight back of the Chicago Cubs for the final wild-card spot. Second baseman Joe Panik is expected to be activated off the disabled list Monday after missing 34 contests with a back injury and will try to reverse a trend in which the Giants have lost nine of their last 12 on the road. San Francisco gives the ball to Mike Leake, who is 0-2 with a 3.16 ERA in four starts since being acquired from Cincinnati at the trade deadline.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN Arizona

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Mike Leake (9-7, 3.49 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (4-3, 3.67)

Leake allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 loss to Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. The 27-year-old San Diego native also recorded quality starts in his first two appearances with San Francisco, but also lost 2-1 in Texas in his Giants debut Aug. 2. Leake is 4-0 with a 4.84 ERA in seven starts against Arizona and has fared well against Paul Goldschmidt (2-for-16), who is third in the NL and fifth in the majors with a .321 batting average.

Corbin allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings Tuesday in his 11th start of the season. The 26-year-old New York native, who recorded quality starts in six of his last eight outings, has yielded 57 hits while striking out 56 in 56 1/3 innings. Corbin is 2-4 with a 4.20 ERA in nine starts versus San Francisco after a 2-1 loss July 19 when he allowed two runs in five innings, but fares well against Brandon Crawford (2-for-11, eight strikeouts).

WALK-OFFS

1. The Diamondbacks, who have lost four straight following a 6-4 loss to the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday, play their next 22 games against NL West opponents before finishing the season with three versus Houston.

2. San Francisco C Buster Posey (115), 3B Matt Duffy (92), 1B Brandon Belt (83) and SS Brandon Crawford (77) went a combined 367 at-bats without a home run before Posey went deep in the fourth inning Sunday. The quartet have combined for 62 of the Giants' 113 home runs this season.

3. Arizona leads the season series 7-6, but San Francisco is 5-1 at Chase Field after sweeping a three-game series coming out of the All-Star break.

PREDICTION: Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2