Urena On Mound For Fish Friday Night Vs. D-backs
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) -- Promising pitching and just enough offense have propelled the Arizona Diamondbacks to a share of the lead in the National League West.
That formula paved the way in the opener of a four-game series against the host Miami Marlins, with Arizona vying to record its 14th win in 18 contests when the teams reconvene on Friday.
Nick Ahmed's two-run single in the eighth inning highlighted his three-hit performance in the Diamondbacks' 3-2 win on Thursday, raising his hit total to 10 with six RBIs in his last six games.
Paul Goldschmidt slowly is working his way out of a funk, driving in a run for the second straight contest while improving to 4-for-25 in the last seven games.
While Arizona has proven itself to be one of the upstart teams in the majors, Miami's brief run of success came to a halt as Thursday's decision ended its season-high winning streak at four.
Giancarlo Stanton recorded a run-scoring single in the opener to pull even with Mike Lowell with a franchise-best 578 RBIs, with the slugger's three hits tying for the most on the team against Friday starter Patrick Corbin.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, FSN Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (4-5, 5.14 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Urena (3-2, 3.14)
Although Zack Greinke continued his success in the opener, Corbin is hoping to turn the corner after allowing 26 runs, 42 hits and eight homers in five starts last month. The 27-year-old was scorched for seven runs and 10 hits in four frames of a 9-5 loss in Milwaukee on Sunday. Corbin won his lone decision in four career appearances against Miami but settled for a pair of no-decisions in his encounters with the Marlins last year.
Urena recorded both a personal best and worst in his last outing after striking out seven and walking six in Sunday's 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The 25-year-old Dominican allowed two runs and three hits in that contest on the heels of a less-than-stellar effort in his previous turn, during which he was taken deep twice and permitted six runs in an 11-9 victory at Oakland. Urena, who will be making his first career start against Arizona, recorded a hold after tossing one scoreless inning of relief versus the Diamondbacks last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Miami 2B Dee Gordon has recorded 20 hits and scored 11 runs in his last 12 games.
2. Diamondbacks LF Yasmany Tomas is 2-for-20 with eight strikeouts in his last six contests.
3. Marlins 3B Derek Dietrich is 3-for-28 with six strikeouts in his last eight games.
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