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Diamondbacks hope to salvage finale with Giants

Jun 16, 2011 - 2:54 PM (Sports Network) - After losing two potentially critical contests to the team ahead of them in the National League West standings, the Arizona Diamondbacks will turn to their most consistent pitcher of this 2011 season in hopes of salvaging the finale of a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants tonight at Chase Field.

Arizona came into this set trailing the reigning world champions by only a half-game in the NL West race, but that deficit has grown after the Giants came through with victories on Tuesday and Wednesday. San Francisco posted a 5-2 triumph in last night's matchup, utilizing solid pitching by Madison Bumgarner and three relievers.

Bumgarner worked the first six innings and held Arizona to two runs, both of which came via solo homers from Willie Bloomquist and Chris Young, while striking out six and surrendering just five hits.

"He's reeled off some real nice quality starts. His [3-8] record isn't indicative of how he's doing," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the 21-year- old Bumgarner. "It was good to get him a win."

Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo protected Bumgarner's lead with a scoreless inning each before turning the game over to closer Brian Wilson, who shut the Diamondbacks out in the ninth to notch his 20th save of the season.

San Francisco's Bill Hall snapped a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the top of the sixth, and the Giants tacked on two more runs in the ninth to gain some breathing room. Eli Whiteside knocked in the first with a one-out triple that plated Hall, then scored on a wild pitch to give his club a 5-2 advantage.

Young finished 2-for-3 for Arizona, which had returned home off a three-game sweep at fading Florida over the weekend. Starter Joe Saunders took the loss despite permitting just three runs in a seven-inning stint.

"You have to try to find the positive," said Young. "We put ourselves in a position [to win] so we'll continue to fight."

San Francisco has now won three in a row overall and has handled the Diamondbacks all throughout this season, having taken seven of the eight meetings between the divisional foes so far in 2011. The Giants improved to 20-4 in their past 24 encounters with Arizona following last night's verdict.

Ian Kennedy will try to turn the tide when he takes the mound for the Diamondbacks in the finale. The young right-hander has put together a strong first half of the 2011 campaign, having produced a team-best seven wins along with a sound 3.23 earned run average in 14 starts.

Kennedy's latest win came Saturday in Miami, although he did give up three homers and five total runs in eight innings against the Marlins. The 26-year- old did amass nine strikeouts, however, and received plenty of offensive support in Arizona's 9-5 decision.

The former New York Yankees prospect did turn in a gem against the Giants in San Francisco back on May 10, though it didn't result in a Diamondbacks' victory. In that 1-0 setback, Kennedy fired eight shutout innings and yielded just four hits while fanning eight batters.

Kennedy is just 1-2 in six lifetime meetings with the Giants, but he's pitched to an impressive 2.16 ERA in those outings.

San Francisco counters with reclamation project Ryan Vogelsong, who'll be out to continue his surprisingly good pitching since being inserted into the team's rotation in late April.

Vogelsong, who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2006 prior to being called up earlier this season, has registered an outstanding 1.81 ERA and a 4-1 record over nine starts and a pair of relief appearances. The right-hander has allowed two or less runs in all but one of his starts and thrown six or more innings six times over that stretch.

The 33-year-old was touched for a pair of runs in six innings of his most recent effort, a no-decision against Cincinnati on Friday. Five days earlier, he limited Colorado to just one run over eight sharp frames to earn the fourth win of his comeback season.

Vogelsong is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA in seven career games (one start) against Arizona, but hasn't faced the Diamondbacks since May 24, 2006 while then a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.