On Deck: Arizona Is Pulling Away

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Atlanta Braves (64-59) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (71-53)-1:05PM Est.

What was once an incredibly tight four-team race in the NL West is quickly starting to become a three-team battle for second place. The Diamondbacks have won their last four games, and have opened up a 5-game lead on the second place San Diego Padres. It's not only the NL West they lead to, as the Diamondbacks are the only team in the National League with 70 wins on the season, and have a one-game lead over the Mets for homefield advantage in the playoffs. Brandon Webb hasn't given up a run since July, and Micah Owings is not only pitching well, but he's outhitting his opposition as well. Today the Diamondbacks look to complete a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, a team they've dominated that last few seasons. Since last season these two teams have met 12 times, and Arizona has come away with a victory in 10 of the meetings. The Braves meanwhile have fallen to 5.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East and are growing desperate for wins. John Smoltz will get the start this afternoon in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but Smoltz hasn't picked up a win in his last four starts. Yusmeiro Petit starts for the Diamondbacks, replacing the recently DFA'd Byung-Hyun Kim.

San Diego Padres (65-57) vs. Houston Astros (56-67)-4:05PM Est.

The Padres are not only slipping further away from first place in the NL West, but they're also in danger of losing the race for the wild card, which they now find themselves tied for with the Phillies. Today they'll be turning to Greg Maddux to pull them out of their losing streak, and help avoid being swept by the Astros. If Maddux can't do it, it will be the first time the Padres were swept at home by Houston since 1982. Maddux is 26-15 with a 2.78 ERA in his career against the Astros, but he's lost his last four starts against them, and he'll need help from his offense. The Padres pitching staff has done their job in this series, as the Astros haven't scored more than three runs, but as is often the case in San Diego they just can't put any runs on the board. The Astros have been playing well lately, but they lost both Carlos Lee and Roy Oswalt in yesterday's game. Neither is expected to be placed on the disabled list. Matt Albers gets the start for Houston.

Los Angeles Dodgers (63-60) vs. Colorado Rockies (63-59)-4:10PM Est.

Don't think the Dodgers haven't noticed that Arizona is starting to pull away from everybody else. Not only are they now 7.5 games out of first, but they've got to climb over two other teams in the division before they can get there. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so today Brad Penny will be starting on only three days rest. It's important to get Penny a start against the Rockies, because they're the first team Los Angeles must climb over, and Penny has dominated them in his career. He's 12-2 with a 2.69 in 18 starts against Colorado, including two victories already this season. He's also only one victory shy of an NL-best 15 wins on the season. The Rockies will counter with their ace, Jeff Francis, who's coming off his shortest outing of the season. Francis got knocked around for 8 runs in only 3.1 innings of work last week against the Padres. Much like Penny, he's had success against the Dodgers. This season he's 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA, and in his career he's 3-1 with a 2.80 ERA.