Diamondbacks Topple Padres 7-4 On Kennedy's Strong Outing

Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) – Ian Kennedy pitched seven solid innings and the Diamondbacks used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the reeling San Diego Padres, 7-4, in the second of three games at Chase Field.

Kennedy (9-9) allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts for the Diamondbacks, who have won two straight and five of their last six games overall. Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer while Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra both finished with two RBI in the victory.

Starting pitcher Kevin Correia suffered the loss for the Padres, who have dropped six straight games and saw their lead atop the NL West fall to 4 1/2 games over San Francisco. If the Giants beat the Rockies later Tuesday night, that number will shrink to four.

Correia (10-10) was charged with six runs on six hits to go along with six strikeouts and three walks in 4 1/3 frames. Nick Hundley contributed two runs batted in for San Diego.

Justin Upton Rests Sore Shoulder

Justin Upton left during the later innings of last night's Diamondback's game after feeling some discomfort after taking an at-bat.

Upton will get the night off with Para in left field and Church in right.

According to Nick Piecoro, Upton took some swings in the cage and is available to pinch-hit and Gibson doesn't think there's anything serious going on.

Kennedy, D-backs Face Slumping Padres; 6:40 P.M. AZT

(Sports Network) - The last time Arizona starting pitcher Ian Kennedy faced the San Diego Padres, he struck out 12 batters over seven shutout innings.

Kennedy gets the call again tonight versus struggling San Diego in the second portion of a three-game series from Chase Field. He issued a pair of walks in the Diamondbacks' 11-5 victory at Petco Park last Thursday to improve to 5-2 over his last nine starts.

Kennedy is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three career starts against the Padres, and 8-9 overall in 26 starts this season.

The Diamondbacks got a big lift from Mark Reynolds in last night's series- opening 7-2 victory, as the third baseman cracked a pair of home runs and finished with three hits and five RBI. Miguel Montero drove in two runs for Arizona, which has won four of five games and opened a nine-game homestand in impressive fashion.

"We played solid," D'Backs interim manager Kirk Gibson said on the team's website. "We've been playing well. Trust me, we have to get better, but I think we're playing with an attitude lately."

Joe Saunders won his second game in an Arizona uniform (2-4) and yielded only two runs on 10 hits in eight innings. Aaron Heilman closed the door in the ninth inning to preserve the five-run victory.

The Padres' season-high losing streak was pushed to five games on Monday, no thanks to starter Wade LeBlanc, who was pelted for six runs -- including four in the first inning -- and six hits in only three innings.

"It was just a bad night," LeBlanc quipped on the club's site. "I didn't bring anything to the table. I got crushed all over the yard tonight."

Miguel Tejada hit a two-run homer in the first inning to stake the Padres to an early lead and Yorvit Torrealba ended with a pair of hits in defeat.

San Diego, which was coming off a three-game weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia, remained five games ahead of San Francisco for the National League West lead. The Giants lost to Colorado last night.

Padres manager Bud Black hopes Kevin Correia can bounce back from back-to-back losses when he takes the mound tonight. Correia allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings at Milwaukee on August 21, then surrendered nine runs and nine hits over just 3 1/2 frames versus the Diamondbacks last Thursday.

Correia fell to 10-9 in 25 starts this season and 4-7 with a 4.43 earned run average in 22 career matchups (13 starts) with Arizona. On a more promising note, the right-hander is 5-3 in 11 starts on the road this season.

San Diego leads the 2010 series with Arizona by a 10-6 count, but has lost five of the seven matchups at Chase Field.