The Padres' offense has been feast or famine of late. The Diamondbacks are hoping Patrick Corbin can make it more of the latter.
Corbin looks to continue his recent dominance and beat the Padres for the third time in as many meetings this season Sunday.
San Diego (47-58) has alternated wins and losses over the past five games, batting .345 with 28 runs in those three victories and .131 with one run in the defeats. That disparity has been on display in this series at Chase Field, as the Padres had three homers in Saturday's 12-3 win after being held to three hits in a 10-0 loss in the series opener.
Corbin (12-1, 2.31 ERA) will try to quiet the Padres' bats again. The left-hander has won both starts against them this season, yielding five runs -- four earned -- in 13 innings. He enters this matchup in impressive form, having won three straight starts, all at home, behind a 1.31 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.
Corbin battled through his latest outing Tuesday, throwing 96 pitches in six innings while yielding one run and four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in a 10-4 win over the Cubs.
"Patrick wasn't very sharp early, but he's just really good at battling through things," manager Kirk Gibson said. "It's only fitting he got the win."
Arizona has won 18 of Corbin's 20 starts, and he's 8-0 with a 1.54 ERA in 11 at home.
Corbin, though, has struggled greatly against Chris Denorfia, who is 7 for 13 with two doubles and three homers in their matchups. Denorfia is a .353 hitter with 19 runs in 21 games at Chase Field. He has two hits in this series, including a two-run homer Saturday.
Yonder Alonso had three hits and four RBIs on Saturday, raising his career average at Chase Field to .404 with 17 RBIs in 14 games. The first baseman, who's 3 for 7 against Corbin, is batting .382 with nine RBIs in nine games since the All-Star break.
Tyson Ross (1-4, 3.35) will start for the Padres looking to build on an impressive return to the rotation. The right-hander allowed one run and two hits with six strikeouts in six innings of a 6-2 victory over the Brewers on Tuesday. He won for the first time since May 14, 2012, snapping a 12-game losing streak in his first start since injuring his left shoulder against the Dodgers on April 17.
Ross' only appearance against the Diamondbacks came in relief May 25, when he tossed a scoreless ninth in a 10-4 win.
He's expected to face Paul Goldschmidt for the first time. The All-Star first baseman's only two hits in 16 at-bats over his last four games have been homers, driving in five runs. He connected for his team-leading 23rd on Saturday.
"I think Goldy is dragging a bit right now," Gibson told the team's official site. "He's been carrying a lot of people around for a long time."
