The Arizona Diamondbacks, looking to keep their playoff hopes alive, open up a crucial midweek series against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, hoping to climb back into the race. The last time Arizona faced the Padres, they took 1 of 3 games at Petco Park. Both teams are on respectable hot streaks right now, with Arizona winning 6 of their last 10 and San Diego taking 8 of 10. The Padres have taken 8 of the past 9 games against the D-Backs.
Manager Kirk Gibson recognizes the struggles his team has had against San Diego this season and hopes to change that tonight. "They're not the same team as they were at the beginning of the year," Gibson admitted. "The trades that they've made, they've had great impact on their squad. Their middle infielders, they've changed both [of] those guys out and it makes them way better. They got [Carlos] Quentin back. [Chase] Headley has had an incredible year."
Also of note is that Chris Young returns to center field tonight. He is coming back from a quadriceps injury and his return means rookie Adam Eaton will shift to left field. Justin Upton remains in right. Gibson mentioned that he wanted to get Young in the game before Monday's off day, but he decided to give him the extra time off instead. "CY (Young) gives us a little bit more power in there," Gibson said. "He gives us a little bit more athleticism, a little bit more speed out there."
Meanwhile, Willie Bloomquist's status is up in the air. He may be a few days away from a comeback, but at this point in the season, the D-Backs may just opt to shut him down until 2013. Gibson stated that they have not discussed that scenario, but he didn't rule out the possibility, either. He admitted that the Diamondbacks have "missed him" in the lineup.
Tonight's matchup features two solid pitchers in Ian Kennedy, who was in the race for a Cy Young at this time last season and Eric Stults, who is 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA for the Padres this season.
Here are tonight's lineups:
Padres:
Everth Cabrera (SS)
Logan Forsythe (2B)
Chase Headley (3B)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Yonder Alonso (1B)
Chris Denorfia (RF)
Will Venable (CF)
Jesus Guzman (LF)
Eric Stults (P, 6-2, 2.56)
Diamondbacks:
Adam Eaton (LF)
Aaron Hill (2B)
Justin Upton (RF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Miguel Montero (C)
Chris Young (CF)
Chris Johnson (3B)
John McDonald (SS)
Ian Kennedy (P, 13-11, 4.21)
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