Padres, Diamondbacks clash in key NL West series

It has taken almost half a season, but the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks will finally get a good look at each other when they meet in a three-game weekend series in Arizona.

The D-backs enter on a high note after hitting seven homers in a three-game sweep of Seattle. They have won seven of their last 10.

"We just continued fighting," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

Padres right-hander Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.00 ERA) will face Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson (2-2, 4.60) in the series opener Friday.

The Padres dropped two of three at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the week in the first series matching those NL West powers, failing to capitalize on a chance to gain ground in the tight NL West race.

San Diego, which lost the series finale 5-2 on Wednesday, would have moved to one game back from the division lead with a win. Over a longer stretch, the Padres have won 11 of 19 after a six-game losing streak.

"They gave us opportunities," San Diego manager Mike Shildt said after the Wednesday game. "We gave them a few opportunities. They just capitalized a little bit more."

Arizona got back to .500 with Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Mariners, keyed by Eugenio Suarez's third grand slam of the season. The D-backs have eight grand slams in their first 68 games, a major league record.

Suarez has three homers in his last five games and 19 homers this season. He is third among Venezuelan-born players with 295 homers in his 12-year career, trailing Miguel Cabrera (511) and Andres Galarraga (399).

This series is arguably more critical to the Diamondbacks, who are 6 1/2 games out of first place and 4 1/2 behind the third-place Padres.

Arizona recovered from being swept in a three-game series at Cincinnati by doing the same to the Mariners.

"It's like gears," said Lovullo, moving his arms in a rotating motion. "It's moving together. It's a chain reaction. It's connected. On the heels of what happened in Cincinnati ... I think the guys went out there and drew a line and said, ‘Hey, it's time to go. It's time to get that gear moving together.'"

Kolek had not given up a run in his last two starts, against the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers, over 11 1/3 innings. He has a stretch of 15 2/3 scoreless innings dating to the second inning of a May 27 start at Miami.

He faced the Giants' Logan Webb on June 2, a game the Padres won 1-0 in 10 innings.

"It was the first time I got to face like a true superstar of a pitcher and a little bit of an idol," Kolek said. "That was pretty cool. It was a battle, and it all worked out."

Kolek is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 innings over six relief appearances against the D-backs. Arizona's Corbin Carroll is 2-for-4 against him.

Nelson, making his fourth start of the season in place of Corbin Burnes (Tommy John surgery), gave up seven runs and four walks in three innings in a 13-1 loss at Cincinnati his last time out. He had given up one run in his previous 15 2/3 innings.

"It was just a lack of command, lack of throwing strikes," Nelson said. "It's one thing to get beat by hits and homers, but when you beat yourself and you put guys on base for free, it's all that more frustrating."

He is 3-3 with a 5.61 ERA in 43 1/3 innings over nine career appearances (eight starts) against the Padres. Xander Bogaerts is 4-for-9 with two homers off him. Jackson Merrill is 3-for-7 with a homer.

--Field Level Media