Ian Kennedy takes the mound tonight as the Arizona Diamondbacks attempt to pack the ninth-inning troubles against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night into the back of their memories. The blown lead will be a thing of the past if Kirk Gibson's club can pull out a victory at 7:15 p.m. MST at AT&T Park.
In his last outing on Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kennedy (12-11) threw one of his best games of the season, going 6-1/3 innings without giving up a run. It was just the second time this year's he's accomplished that feat.
The Diamondbacks (66-70) might be in luck to pull out the victory considering San Francisco (77-58) will throw right-handed pitcher Ryan Vogelsong on the mound. Though he had an impressive start to the year, Vogelsong (12-7) has given up 18 runs in his past 18 innings. He has a 9.00 ERA in his past four starts, bringing his formerly-impressive season ERA to 3.02.
Of course, the pitching matchups, especially considering Monday night, will put some pressure on the closers. Arizona's J.J. Putz has blown two saves in two consecutive games and the Diamondbacks have held leads in five of their last six losses.
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