If the Arizona Diamondbacks are to gain sole possession of first place in the NL West, they'll need to show some improvement at home. A series against the last-place San Diego Padres should help.
The Diamondbacks open a three-game set with the Padres on Tuesday night at Chase Field.Arizona (64-60) is tied atop the West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who open a three-game series at home against Colorado later on Tuesday.
The Diamondbacks hope to capitalize during a six-game homestand to create some separation in the divisional race. Arizona, though, has dropped four of its last five at home to fall to 33-26 there.
"We have to start playing better at home," manager Bob Melvin told the team's official Web site. The Diamondbacks are hitting .211 while starting pitchers have compiled a 5.79 ERA over the last five home games.
Arizona completed a 4-2 road trip on a sour note as it was limited to two hits in a 3-0 loss to Houston. But during the swing, the Diamondbacks batted .289, and the starting staff posted a 3.07 ERA while lasting at least seven innings in each of the last four games.
The Diamondbacks give the ball to Doug Davis (4-7, 4.79 ERA), who is 0-3 with a 7.25 ERA in four home starts since beating Milwaukee there on June 30.
The left-hander is 1-4 with a 6.12 ERA in eight starts overall, but the victory came against the Padres (48-76) on July 29. He held them to two hits with eight strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings of the 3-0 win.
Davis struggled on Wednesday, allowing three runs and three hits in the first two innings before settling down to give up one run and three hits in the next three. He didn't get a decision in the 6-5 loss at Colorado.
"He got off to a rough start similar to what we've seen the last couple of games," Melvin said. "But he seemed to find his command in the third and at least got us through the game long enough to where we didn't have to go too deep into the bullpen."
Davis is 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 12 career starts against San Diego.
The Diamondbacks are 7-5 against the Padres this season, splitting six meetings in Phoenix.
San Diego is 21-38 on the road, ranking only better than Washington's major league-worst 21-42 mark.
The Padres enter this series after a 2-4 homestand, which saw them outscored 15-4 in the defeats while hitting .185. That trend continued Sunday as they collected only seven singles and lost 2-1 to Philadelphia.
"Yeah, it's frustrating, but that's part of the game," Padres left fielder Chase Headley told the team's official Web site about the team's offensive troubles. "There are going to be balls where you square up that are going to be outs and then you are going to get some breaks. And sometimes it doesn't."
The Padres give the ball to Josh Banks (3-5, 4.37), who is looking to win for only the second time in 13 games. The rookie right-hander is 1-5 with a 5.58 ERA in his last 12 games - 11 starts.
One of those losses came on July 6 against Arizona. He gave up three runs and seven hits over six innings of a 3-2 road loss.
