Helped by the Miami Marlins' struggles at the plate, the Arizona Diamondbacks saw three solid outings by their starters over the weekend.
Patrick Corbin will try to continue that run of solid outings in his major league debut Monday when he takes the mound for the Diamondbacks in the finale of a four-game series at Marlins Park.
Arizona has taken two of three against Miami in this series, winning 8-4 on Sunday following a 3-2 walk-off loss the night before. Wade Miley gave up one unearned run and one hit over 6 1/3 innings Sunday and Jason Kubel drove in three runs.
"You can't get into pity parties," manager Kirk Gibson said. "These guys did a great job of that today."
After falling behind 8-0 after a five-run sixth inning, the Marlins attempted to rally in the ninth behind Giancarlo Stanton's three-run homer, but they went on to lose for the seventh time in eight games.
A victory would give the Diamondbacks (11-11) their first series win since taking two of three at San Diego from April 10-12. Their starters have put them in good position lately, going 2-0 with a 0.42 ERA in this series after posting a 2-6 record and a 4.66 ERA in the previous nine games.
They'll turn Monday to Corbin, a 22-year-old left-hander who takes the rotation spot vacated by Josh Collmenter, who was demoted to the bullpen.
One of Arizona's top pitching prospects, Corbin was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the 2010 Dan Haren trade. He is being called up from Double-A Mobile, where he was 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 27 innings.
"It's a very exciting time when you're making your major league debut," Gibson told the Diamondbacks' official website. "It's what you dream about, it's what you work for."
The Marlins (8-13) will try to make it more difficult for him than they have for opposing starters recently. Despite their late rally attempt Sunday, they've been held to 13 runs in the last eight games and their batting average dropped to .167 during that stretch after recording four hits Sunday.
"I'm concerned because it's not fun," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It's very hard to have fun when you're not playing well. We cannot be worse than this. Obviously we're going to play better. It seems like right now we're not having fun at all."
Jose Reyes, who got Friday night off, is 1 for 5 in this series after going hitless Sunday. He's hitting .205 this season.
Also struggling is Stanton, who finally hit his first homer of the season. His four RBIs Sunday were his first in eight games.
Mark Buehrle (1-3, 2.63 ERA) would certainly appreciate some support.
All three of Buehrle's losses have come on the road, where he has a 0.93 run-support average. In a win at home against the Chicago Cubs on April 18, he received nine runs of support.
Buehrle went seven innings against the New York Mets on Wednesday, allowing a two-run homer in a 5-1 loss.
This will be the left-hander's first time facing the Diamondbacks, although he's seen plenty of Willie Bloomquist when both were playing in the AL. Bloomquist is hitting .462 in 39 at-bats against Buehrle.
