• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Diamondbacks-Padres Preview

Jul 17, 2010 - 7:06 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Arizona (34-56) at San Diego (52-37), 8:35 p.m. EDT

So far, the San Diego Padres don't seem to be missing Mat Latos too much. Another poor start from Clayton Richard, though, could change that sentiment.

With their wins leader on the disabled list, the Padres hope Richard can end his slump as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night.

Hours after putting Latos and reliever Mike Adams on the 15-day DL due to strained muscles on their left sides, San Diego (52-37) got a strong start from Jon Garland in a 12-1 win over Arizona (34-56) on Friday night.

Latos and Adams have played significant roles in leading the Padres to the top of the NL West. Latos has a team-best 10 wins and a 2.45 ERA, and Adams is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA.

San Diego leads the majors in ERA (3.22), getting strong contributions from starters such as Richard (6-4, 3.33 ERA). But the left-hander has had two straight subpar performances, posting an 8.49 ERA.

Richard surrendered six runs and walked three in 5 2-3 innings before San Diego came back to beat Colorado 9-7 on Sunday.

Richard has never faced the Diamondbacks.

Arizona will counter with Rodrigo Lopez (5-7, 4.40), who is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA in his last four outings. The right-hander allowed four runs in seven innings to earn a win in Arizona's 10-4 victory over Florida on July 8.

Lopez lost his only start to San Diego despite pitching a complete game for Baltimore in a 2-0 defeat June 12, 2002.

Lopez is facing a surging Padres lineup, which has scored 21 runs over its last two games and six or more in five of its last six contests. There has been speculation that San Diego is interested in trading for a hitter, but many of its players believe that isn't necessary.

"The bats are there," second baseman David Eckstein said. "We enjoy our club. Everybody pulls for everybody. We have great chemistry. That's something that we don't think about. If they want to do something, OK. But we're going to show up every day."

All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez led San Diego's latest performance, hitting his 19th homer, a two-run drive in the fourth inning. Gonzalez is batting .429 with five homers and 10 RBIs in his last 11 games versus the Diamondbacks.

Third baseman Chase Headley is also coming off a big game for San Diego, delivering three hits - including a solo homer - while matching a career high with four runs. Headley is hitting .357 with 10 RBIs over his past seven contests against Arizona.

Last-place Arizona continues to struggle at the plate on the road, averaging 2.4 runs and batting .201 in losing 19 of its last 23. Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young, who has 15 homers and a team-high 61 RBIs, is hitting .153 over his last 26 games away from Chase Field.

Arizona second baseman Kelly Johnson was hitting .122 in 12 road games prior to opening this series with a 2-for-4 performance.