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Diamondbacks start series in San Diego

Jul 26, 2011 - 2:33 PM (Sports Network) - The Arizona Diamondbacks as set for a grueling nine-game road trip against three other members of the National League West tonight as they kick off a three-game set against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The first trip of the second half of the season for the Diamondbacks, the club just finished a lengthy homestand in which they recorded six wins in 10 opportunities, including back-to-back triumphs versus the Colorado Rockies over the weekend.

On Sunday the D-Backs held Colorado scoreless in a 7-0 final, stretching the Rockies' scoreless streak to 14 innings in the process. Micah Owings played a big part in the effort for the hosts as he tossed five shutout innings for the victory, allowing just two hits in his first start since May 26.

Justin Upton finished up 4-for-4 with three RBI and Xavier Nady added two hits and three runs scored for Arizona, which has won three of its last four. Upton, who lifted his batting average to .301, registered a pair of doubles and a triple, accounting for all three extra-base hits for his team.

"I got lucky. High balls fell for me today," Upton said. "I hit two jam shots today, broke my bat a couple times and that's just the way baseball is."

As for a Padres team which is set to host Colorado and the Dodgers during this upcoming nine-game homestand, they escaped Philadelphia on Monday by finally defeating the top team in the majors with a 5-4 triumph. San Diego had dropped all three prior games in the series against the Phils and a total of 10 in a row versus the club, dating back to June of last year.

Chris Denorfia highlighted a four-run second inning with a steal of home, as the Padres held on for the one-run win against Cliff Lee who was touched for a season-high 10 hits in just four innings of action.

Denorfia's theft of home was the first by the Padres since Mark Sweeney on July 6, 2005 at Houston. It was also the first straight steal of home for San Diego since Eric Owens on May 21, 1999.

Chase Headley accounted for three of those hits for a Padres group which is still looking up at the rest of the NL West.

"We came out swinging," said San Diego manager Bud Black. "We knew we had a big challenge against one of the best pitchers in the game and our guys responded."

Aaron Harang allowed four runs on eight hits over six frames to win his fifth straight decision and moved to an impressive 9-2 on the campaign overall. In the ninth inning the Padres turned it over to Heath Bell who, after issuing a leadoff walk to Domonic Brown, closed with his 29th save of the season.

Kicking off the critical trek versus the rest of the NL West, the Diamondbacks send Joe Saunders to the hill tonight in southern California.

Saunders, who is already 0-1 this season and 2-3 in his career versus the Padres, failed to earn a decision in his last outing on Wednesday when he gave up just two runs on five hits over seven innings of action in a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee at home. The lefty walked two in the meeting, but he also struck out just two batters along the way as well.

The Padres, who are facing a quick turn-around following their series finale in Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, they're hoping that right-hander Dustin Moseley can repeat the effort he gave the club in his last outing when he delivered a win over the Florida Marlins on Thursday.

The Texas native had gone six starts without landing in the win column, but he managed to stem the tide versus the Marlins as he permitted just three runs, although none of them were earned, in six innings of action. Moseley, who permitted five hits and fanned two, didn't walk a single batter in the outing, the first time that's happened in about a month and a half.

The six-year veteran, who spent the first few years over in the American League with the Angels, lost his only previous appearance against Arizona earlier this season.

San Diego, which has the fewest home runs of any team in the majors with a mere 53 over 103 games, is 14 1/5 games out of contention in the NL West while Arizona continues to chase the San Francisco Giants for the top spot, still just four games behind.