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With less than six weeks remaining in the regular season, the
Arizona Diamondbacks
have their eyes on more than a wild card berth.
Arizona will try to climb up both the wild card and NL West standings when they finish a three-game series against the
San Diego Padres
on Sunday.
With a 5-3 win Saturday combined with the the
Los Angeles Dodgers
' 14-7 win over Giants, Arizona is three games behind the first-place Dodgers in the West.
Claudio Vargas
won his second straight decision after allowing a run and three hits over seven innings. He also helped his own cause with
a two-run double in the fifth inning that broke a scoreless tie.
''That's what I think we have to do if we want to win the division,'' Vargas said. ''Good pitching, good defense and big hits.''
Arizona stayed one game behind Cincinnati for the wild card because the Reds beat Pittsburgh 14-7 on Saturday night.
Miguel Batista
(10-5, 4.67 ERA) looks to win his fifth straight decision and tie a career high for wins when he starts for the Diamondbacks.
He had 11 victories in 2001 during his first stint with Arizona.
Since Batista lost three straight starts from June 9-20, Arizona has been nearly unstoppable with the right-hander on the
mound. He's gone 4-0 with two complete games and a 4.18 ERA in his last 10 outings, and the Diamondbacks have gone 9-1.
He has not faced the Padres this season, and is 3-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 20 appearances, including nine starts, against them.
Batista started against Colorado on Tuesday and gave up a run and seven hits over six innings in a 2-1, 18-inning victory.
San Diego's
Chris Young
(9-5, 3.80) will face Arizona for the first time as he looks for his first win in four starts. In three chances this month
for his 10th win, Young is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA.
The Padres have scored just four runs in Young's starts this month, but he's also given up 17 hits and walked 10 in 16 innings.
Against San Francisco on Tuesday, Young gave up two runs and six hits over six innings but did not get the decision in a 3-2
loss.
''Tonight, I threw the ball pretty much where I wanted it,'' said Young, who added his mechanics were better compared to recent
starts. ''On the whole, I was relatively pleased with the way I pitched.''
Geoff Blum
, playing shortstop after
Khalil Greene
was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left middle finger, had two RBIs on Saturday as the defending NL West champion
Padres lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
San Diego (61-62) is hitting .196 in the first six games of a 10-game homestand against NL West opponents.
''We didn't play well today; offensively, defensively,'' Padres manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''We were shabby out there.''
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