It’s back to division play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they open a 6-game homestand with a 3-game series against the woeful San Diego Padres. And playing in the division is fine with Arizona. The Diamondbacks have gone 31-16 against teams in their division this season. If the NL West standings were based only on division record, the D-Backs would have a 7-game cushion over the Dodgers. Twenty-five of the Diamondbacks remaining 38 games are in the division. Although the West has been pointed and laughed at by the rest of baseball all season long, slowly the Diamondbacks and Dodgers have lessened the gap record wise between them and other division leaders, kind of. At 64-60, the D-Backs and Dodgers only trail the NL East leading Mets by 3.5 games. And despite the struggles of both teams, with the Dodgers picking up Greg Maddux and Manny Ramirez, and the Diamondbacks adding Adam Dunn, this promises to be one of the more intriguing races in baseball coming down the stretch. But first, a date with the Padres…

Here’s a closer look at both teams…

San Diego Padres (48-76, 5th place in NL West, 16 games behind Arizona and Los Angeles)

Manager: Bud Black (2nd year with Padres, 137-150)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Brian Giles, .290

Runs: Adrian Gonzalez, 72

Hits: Adrian Gonzalez & Kevin Kouzmanoff, 132

HR: Adrian Gonzalez, 28

RBI: Adrian Gonzalez, 89

SB: Tadahito Iguchi, 8

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Greg Maddux, 153 1/3

Wins: Jake Peavy, 10

ERA: Jake Peavy, 2.61

Strikeouts: Jake Peavy, 133

Saves: Trevor Hoffman, 26

Bottom Line:Last September 3rd, after pasting the Diamondbacks 10-2, the Padres were 76-61, and in first place in the National League West. The Padres limped to the finish line, going 13-13 over the last 26 games, including the loss in the heart-wrenching one game playoff with Colorado that propelled the Rockies to the playoffs and an eventual National League pennant, and sent the Padres home for the winter. In fact, since September 3 of last year, the Padres are a woeful 61-89. They come into the game with the 3rd worst record in the majors, ahead of only Seattle and Washington.

The problem has been offense. The Padres are 15th in the National League in batting (.246), and are 15th in runs scored. The only Padre having a decent offensive season is first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has 28 home runs and 89 rbis. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff has been ok, and Brian Giles has been unspectacular but steady. Giles vetoed a deal that would have sent him to Boston and thrust him into a pennant race. Shortstop Khalil Greene has been atrocious at the plate, hitting just .213. He is currently on the disabled list with fractured hand.

Pitching wise, Jake Peavy has been steady again for San Diego. The 2007 Cy Young Award winner again leads the National League in ERA with a mark of 2.61. Peavy has been a victim of no run support, and is currently working a streak of 9 consecutive starts in which his teammates have scored 4 runs or less. Greg Maddux, at age 42, has been steady, and actually led the Padres in innings pitched, but he was dealt to the Dodgers on Monday night. Look for right hander Chad Reineke to start in Maddux’s normal place in the rotation on Thursday. Closer Trevor Hoffman is still formidable, and has converted 26 of 29 save opportunities this season.

San Diego’s Pitchers vs. Arizona

Tonight: Josh Banks (2008: 3-5, 4.37 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-1, 4.50 ERA)

Wednesday: Jake Peavy (2008: 9-8, 2.61 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 11-10, 4.73 ERA)

Thursday: Chad Reineke (2008: 1-0, 5.40 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (64-60, 1st place in NL West, tied with Los Angeles)

Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 307-304)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Orlando Hudson, .305

Runs: Mark Reynolds, 77

Hits: Stephen Drew, 132

HR: Mark Reynolds, 24

RBI: Mark Reynolds, 82

SB: Chris Young, 9

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Brandon Webb, 177

Wins: Brandon Webb, 18

ERA: Brandon Webb, 2.85

Strikeouts: Dan Haren, 156

Saves: Brandon Lyon, 25

Bottom Line: Adam Dunn has made a positive impact on the Diamondbacks in his first week with the team. Arizona is 4-2 with Dunn in the lineup, although everyone is waiting for Dunn to go deep for the first time in Sedona red. Dunn, in fact, is in the midst of a 16 game homerless streak, his longest such streak since a 21 game streak to end the 2006 season. But others have picked up the long ball slack. Chris Burke and Miguel Montero who had combined for 1 homer in 2008 before Dunn arrived, have 4 combined in the last week. Many wrote the Diamondbacks off when second baseman Orlando Hudson suffered a season-ending wrist injury. But Burke has filled in nicely after being non-existent pretty much all year. He’s 4 for 15 with 2 homers and 4 rbis in his last 4 starts, and is hitting .280 in the month of August.

Tuesday is an important start for Doug Davis. He is 0-2 with an astronomical ERA of 12.27 in his last 3 starts. An outing against the light-hitting Padres might be just what Davis needs to get on the right track for the stretch run. The Padres are one of only two National League teams that Brandon Webb doesn’t have a winning record against. Webb is 5-7 lifetime vs. San Diego. The St. Louis Cardinals are the only other team in the senior circuit to get the best of Webb.

Arizona’s pitchers vs. San Diego:

Tonight: Doug Davis (2008: 4-7, 4.79 ERA; career vs. Padres: 7-3, 3.05 ERA)

Wednesday: Dan Haren (2008: 13-6, 2.96 ERA; career vs. Padres: 2-1, 1.95 ERA)

Thursday: Brandon Webb (2008: 18-4, 2.85 ERA; career vs. Padres: 5-7, 3.61 ERA)

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