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Penny seeks to continue mastery of Diamondbacks

Sep 23, 2006 - 3:25 PM Arizona (72-81) at LA Dodgers (81-73) 10:10 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- In his career against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brad Penny has been worth every cent.

Penny tries to continue his success against the Diamondbacks and keep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the thick of the playoff hunt when the teams square off Saturday.

Penny (16-8, 4.13 ERA) is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 10 lifetime starts against Arizona.

Los Angeles posted a 2-0 triumph in Friday's series opener as Derek Lowe worked seven strong innings and J.D. Drew belted a solo homer.

The Dodgers trail the San Diego Padres by one-half game in the National League West Division and lead the Philadelphia Phillies by the same margin in the wild card standings.

The All-Star righthander last faced the Diamondbacks on July 5, holding them to two runs in seven innings of a 5-4 victory.

However, Penny has not fared as well of late, going just 6-6 with a 5.91 ERA since the All-Star break. He surrendered four runs in five frames Monday in an eventual 11-10 victory against San Diego.

Arizona counters with Miguel Batista (10-7, 4.40), who has not won in his last seven starts. The veteran righthander allowed three runs - one earned - in six innings Monday against Colorado but still took the loss in a 6-1 setback.

Batista is 7-6 with a 2.98 ERA in his career against the Dodgers, including a 2-0 mark with a 2.45 ERA in three outings this year.

The Diamondbacks have lost 14 of their last 17 road games, scoring two runs or fewer in four of their last five contests away from Chase Field.