San Diego @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2019 ) Arizona 4, San Diego 6

The San Diego Padres are two wins away from guaranteeing themselves their best record in four seasons, but the way they are finishing out the year has not exactly been cause for celebration. The Padres attempt to win for only the third time in 15 games Friday when they travel to Arizona for the opener of a three-game set with the Diamondbacks.

San Diego (70-89) needs only one win to match the 2017 team's win total and two victories for its best finish since a 74-88 campaign in 2015, but a miserable run since a series win against Colorado from Sept. 6-8 locked up a ninth straight losing season for the club. The Padres wrapped up a 1-5 homestand Thursday with a 1-0 setback against the Los Angeles Dodgers, robbing them of whatever joy they were able to derive from winning the final of three contests against Arizona in the previous series. The Diamondbacks (82-77) guaranteed themselves a third consecutive winning season with Wednesday's 9-7 triumph over St. Louis in the rubber match of their three-game set, winning for the fifth time in seven tries overall. Arizona has won four straight at home against San Diego and five of six overall against its National League West rival.

TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, FS Arizona

PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Eric Lauer (8-10, 4.53 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Taylor Clarke (5-5, 5.40)

Lauer credited some minor mechanical adjustments for helping him tie a career high with nine strikeouts last Friday, but it wasn't enough to avoid a loss to Arizona despite permitting two runs over six innings. The Kent State product walked multiple hitters in six of his last seven outings, but he has also fanned at least eight three times in the last month and completed six frames in four of his last five. Lauer is 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA in four starts versus the Diamondbacks this season.

Clarke is set to make his first turn in over a month after seven straight relief appearances, the last six of which he has allowed at least one run. The 26-year-old Virginia native wasn't particularly sharp when he last started, giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits and walk over 1 2/3 innings in a loss to San Francisco. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer in his only at-bat against Clarke, who yielded one run over three relief frames to get the win against San Diego on Sept. 21.

WALK-OFFS

1. Despite Arizona's 80-57 advantage in runs scored, the teams have split the first 16 meetings this season.

2. The Diamondbacks' 217 homers are the second most in team history, three shy of the 2017 club.

3. San Diego (20) and Arizona (19) have combined for 39 home runs in September after totaling 78 in August (31 and 47, respectively).

PREDICTION: Diamondbacks 5, Padres 3