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Athletics, Diamondbacks square off in series finale

Jun 19, 2008 - 1:30 PM Oakland (39-32) at Arizona (38-34) 3:40 pm ET

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- In a series defined by blowout wins, the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks eye a return to normalcy when they meet in the rubber game of their three-game interleague series on Thursday.

After the A's hit six homers and matched their season high in runs in a 15-1 thrashing of the Diamondbacks in the series opener on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks matched their season high in runs and hits (15) with an 11-1 rout of Oakland on Wednesday, in Dan Haren's first start against his former team.

One of the pitchers acquired from Arizona in the Haren trade this offseason, rookie Greg Smith (4-5, 3.62 ERA) will make his first career start against the team that drafted him in the sixth round of the 2005 draft.

The lefthander overcame a career-high six walks in his last turn on Friday, allowing one run and three hits over five frames in a 5-1 win at San Francisco. The triumph halted a stretch that saw Smith win just one of his previous eight starts.

The Diamondbacks, who have won just 10 of their last 28 games, will look for a vintage performance from Doug Davis (2-3, 3.99) against Oakland, a team he has dominated throughout his career. The lefthander, who is 6-1 with a 3.19 ERA in eight career starts against the A's, has not them faced the club since 2002.

Davis, who has not won since his first start back from throat cancer surgery on May 23, did not factor into the decision in Friday's 1-0 win over Kansas City despite tossing seven scoreless innings.