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Diamondbacks-Giants Preview

May 28, 2010 - 1:19 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Arizona (20-27) at San Francisco (23-22), 10:15 p.m. EDT

The San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled all year against division foes, but one of them will earn a series victory this weekend.

The two worst teams in the NL West start a three-game set Friday night at AT&T Park, where the Diamondbacks have dropped 10 of 12 games.

San Francisco (24-22) would be much closer to first place in the division if not for its 4-12 division mark, including a 2-4 mark at home. The fourth-place Giants were also outscored 20-8 in two losses at Arizona (20-28) last week.

Those wins represent some rare success for the last-place Diamondbacks against NL West foes. Arizona is 7-13 within the division and 3-9 on the road.

Arizona has lost four straight following a four-game win streak. The Diamondbacks were outscored 18-7 in a three-game series at Colorado after Thursday's 8-2 loss.

"It is a roller coaster that we need to get off of," manager A.J. Hinch said.

The streaks have mirrored slugger Adam LaRoche's production. LaRoche was 8 for 15 with eight RBIs during the four victories before going 2 for 14 with no RBIs in the next four contests.

LaRoche and Stephen Drew did plenty of damage against the Giants, with LaRoche going 4 for 8 with two homers and four RBIs and Drew 3 for 7 with a homer and five RBIs. Drew is hitting .358 since May 5.

The Giants began this nine-game homestand by winning two of three over Washington. They won 5-4 on Thursday as Freddy Sanchez hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning.

Before going 2 for 2 with two walks against the Nationals, Sanchez had been hitting .192 since being reinstated from the disabled list on May 19.

"We needed somebody to pick us up and he certainly did today," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He did miss a lot of time but he came back with a lot of energy and picked us up."

Bengie Molina remains in a 2-for-26 slump, including seven hitless at-bats against the Diamondbacks this year. He's hit safely in 10 straight home games against Arizona, going 17 for 36 with four homers and 13 RBIs.

Giants starter Matt Cain (2-4, 2.88 ERA) will try to avoid losing four straight starts for the first time since June 10-27, 2007. Cain has a 3.05 during his skid, and San Francisco has scored three combined runs in those outings.

The right-hander threw a five-hitter in Saturday's 1-0 loss at Oakland.

Cain went 1-1 with a 5.16 ERA in four starts against the Diamondbacks last year. Drew was 4 for 9 against him in those games and Mark Reynolds 3 for 8 with two homers.

Arizona is looking for a third straight win by Edwin Jackson (2-5, 6.28), who allowed five runs over 7 2-3 innings Saturday in an 8-5 win over Toronto. He's struck out 21 in winning two straight outings after losing his previous four.

The right-hander's lone career start against the Giants came in 2003. He's 1-2 with a 7.97 ERA in four road outings this year.