San Diego at Arizona

Ian Kennedy has not been the lights-out pitcher he was a year ago when he posted a 21-4 mark. But over his last six starts, the D-Backs are 4-2 and he has allowed 2 runs or less in the four wins. He should be able to navigate safely through a Padres’ lineup that is not up to MLB standards. Jason Marquis could not even stay in the rotation with the pitching-starved Minnesota Twins, and after four straight losses he found himself in San Diego, where the Padres have found the win column just once in his first five starts, making his teams now 1-8 the last 9 times he has taken the mound, with opponents scoring 59 runs, or almost 8 per contest. The Padres are winning just one of every four at 8-24 on the road vs. a winning team in their last 32, and are overmatched here. Play on Arizona.