Dan Haren has pitched well in two starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks only to come away with a pair of losses. A similarly strong start against the San Francisco Giants should be enough to get him in the win column.
Haren has hardly received any run support thus far, but the Diamondbacks will get a chance to give their hard-luck pitcher some offensive help Friday night when they look to extend the Giants' losing streak to seven games in the first of three at AT&T Park.Haren (0-2, 2.08 ERA) had a stellar 3.33 ERA last season, but Arizona also put up 5.5 runs per game to help the right-hander end up with a career-high 16 wins.
Yet, if the Diamondbacks (3-6) continue to hit the way they have when Haren's been on the hill in 2009, he may struggle to earn any victories. Haren has yielded three runs and held opponents to a .159 batting average in 13.0 innings, but Arizona has pushed across a total of one run.
Haren gave up two runs and four hits in six innings Sunday, but Arizona had just three hits in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I pride myself on being consistent, going out there every time and giving the team a chance," Haren said. "I've done that. I haven't gotten 'Ws,' but I'm where I need to be pitching-wise. You can't really measure a pitcher by wins and losses anyway. There's only so much I can control."
Haren was 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in four starts against the Giants (2-7) last season, including a four-hitter while striking out 12 in a 2-0 win on Sept. 16 at Chase Field.
Arizona scored two runs or fewer in five of its first seven games, but put up seven apiece in its last two. That was good enough to beat St. Louis 7-6 on Tuesday, but the Diamondbacks fell 12-7 to the visiting Cardinals in the finale of a three-game set on Wednesday.
Third baseman Mark Reynolds, who's homered in his past two games, isn't overly concerned with Arizona's shaky start.
"It will come together," he told the team's official Web site. "Right now, we're just trying to find the right balance. When we get the pitching, it seems like we don't hit, and when we get the hitting, we don't get our pitching. It will start coming together soon, and we'll start winning some games."
That may happen against the reeling Giants in Arizona's first road series this year. San Francisco got off to a 2-1 start at home, but was swept in San Diego and Los Angeles.
The Giants seemingly couldn't hit or pitch during their six-game road slide, batting .208 while totaling 14 runs and concluding the trip with a dreadful 8.79 ERA from their starters.
One-time AL Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito's ERA through two starts hit 10.00 after a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday.
"I didn't know we'd have a streak like this this early," manager Bruce Bochy said. "There's no question, we're bad right now. Are we bad? No. But right now, we are."
Jonathan Sanchez (0-1, 9.64) will try to bounce back from a rocky first start, as he gave up four hits, five walks and five runs over 4 2-3 innings in a 6-3 loss at San Diego on Saturday.
There's little to suggest he can rebound, though, as Sanchez is 1-5 with an 8.56 ERA in seven career starts versus Arizona. Left fielder Conor Jackson is 9-for-12 with two homers and five RBIs against Sanchez.
The Giants haven't lost seven straight since an eight-game slide from June 13-22, 2007.
