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Young returns to Padres rotation

Jul 29, 2008 - 1:48 PM Arizona (53-52) at San Diego (42-65), 10:05 pm EDT

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Chris Young will take the mound for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday when the San Diego Padres continue a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Young has been sidelined since May 21, when he was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols. The 6-10 Young (4-4, 4.50 ERA) suffered a broken nose and a small crack in his skull.

Young last faced Arizona on April 19, but didn't factor in the 10-3 loss. He tossed six solid innings, allowing two runs and three hits before the Padres' bullpen imploded in the late frames.

Doug Davis (3-5, 4.22) will oppose Young with hopes of winning for the first time this month. The lefthander hasn't allowed more than four runs in nine of his past 10 starts, but the Diamondbacks have lost seven of those games.

Davis faced San Diego on July 5 and was on the short end of a 4-2 loss. He tossed eight sterling innings, allowing three runs and seven hits while striking out seven, but was out-dueled by ace Jake Peavy.

On Monday in the series opener, starter Greg Maddux stole the show despite allowing four runs in five innings. The 42-year-old righthander moved past Hall of Famer Phil Niekro and took sole possession of 10th place on baseball's career strikeout list in the third inning by recording his 3,343rd strikeout in the third against Conor Jackson.

Nick Hundley's three-run shot was the big blow as the Padres erased a 3-2 deficit and scored six runs in the third against Arizona starter Micah Owings to stake Maddux to a lead he wouldn't relinquish.