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Padres eye fourth straight win and sweep of Diamondbacks

May 17, 2011 - 2:43 PM (Sports Network) -The San Diego Padres shoot for their fourth straight win and a two-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks when they take the field tonight at Chase Field.

The Padres are coming off last night's 8-4 victory behind another offensive outburst, as Ryan Ludwick led the way with a two-run homer and three RBI. Cameron Maybin and Jason Bartlett both knocked in two runs, while Chase Headley ended 3-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored for San Diego, which has won three in a row and four of five games.

"Out of the chute, we only had a couple of guys swing the bat well and the other guys were not," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Now we have our guys doing much better, collectively, and that's what teams need to do to score runs."

Clayton Richard picked up the win, only his second of the season, and allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Mike Adams pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for his first save.

San Diego has scored six or more runs in six straight games and is 4-3 on an eight-game road trip. It will return to Petco Park for an eight-game homestand following tonight's game in the desert.

Tim Stauffer will try to pitch the Friars to a two-game sweep of the D'Backs when he toes the rubber Tuesday. Stauffer is only 0-1 with a 3.47 earned run average in eight starts and has recorded six straight no-decisions since his only decision, a loss on April 6 versus San Francisco.

Stauffer previously took the mound in last Wednesday's 13-6 drubbing of Milwaukee and was reached for six runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. He managed to strike out seven batters and has fanned at least six in four consecutive outings. The righty tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 4-3 win over Arizona on May 6 and is 0-1 with a 1.35 ERA in eight career games (2 starts) against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona will resume a seven-game homestand tonight which started on a sour note on Monday. Armando Galarraga was saddled with the loss for permitting eight runs -- five earned -- and eight hits in five innings. The Padres raced out to a 5-0 lead by the second inning.

"He didn't pitch very well at all," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said of Galarraga. "Didn't set a very good tone for us, really didn't have much tonight at all; no location."

Henry Blanco had a big night at the plate with two home runs and Justin Upton added two hits and an RBI for the D'Backs, who had a modest two-game winning streak stopped and lost for the sixth time in eight tries.

The Diamondbacks, who will also host Atlanta and Minnesota, will send Daniel Hudson to the mound Tuesday and he's 3-5 with a 4.41 ERA in eight starts. Hudson began the 2011 season with four straight defeats before bouncing back thanks to a personal three-start win streak. Hudson, however, fell back into the loss column in Thursday's 3-2 loss at San Francisco.

Hudson was reached for three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings against the defending World Series champion Giants. The right-hander recently beat San Diego in a 6-0 rout on May 7 at Petco Park, where he fired seven scoreless innings and struck out six batters. Hudson has fanned at least five batters in four straight outings and is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA in two career starts against San Diego.

The Padres took two of three from the Diamondbacks at home back in early May.