(SportsNetwork.com) - Zack Greinke tries to become the first seven-game winner in the National League when the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a nine-game road trip Friday with the first of three straight games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Greinke is 6-1 on the season and trails only Toronto's Mark Buehrle (7-1) for the major league lead in victories. Greinke will make his ninth start of the season and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his appearances, including Saturday's 6-2 triumph over San Francisco. He was reached for two runs in seven innings, struck out eight and walked three.
The right-hander, who has a solid 2.38 earned run average in 45 1/3 innings of work, has a 3-1 record in four road starts and will face the NL West-rival Diamondbacks for the third time in 2014, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA through the first two matchups. Greinke is 3-0 in five starts against Arizona since joining the Dodgers and 3-3 with a 4.60 ERA in 10 career meetings.
Los Angeles is 7-1 against the D'backs this season and looks to get back in the win column following Wednesday's 13-3 loss to the Miami Marlins in the finale of a three-game series. The Dodgers won the first two bouts with Miami, but stared down a 12-0 hole by the fourth inning.
Paul Maholm was shelled to the tune of 10 runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings and allowed two home runs. Maholm is 1-4 on the year.
"Paul was frustrated. Everything went against him tonight," said Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly.
Marlins young hurler Anthony DeSclafani made his major league debut and Los Angeles struggled to figure him out, posting two runs and seven hits in his six innings on the hill. Carl Crawford homered and was one of two players (Justin Turner) with two hits for the Dodgers, who went 3-4 on the homestand.
Matt Kemp did not play and has hit safely in six straight and 10 of the last 11 games since May 3. He is batting .425 with six multi-hit games in that stretch and raised his batting average to .276.
Yasiel Puig had a hit Wednesday and is riding a 14-game hitting streak. He has a .411 batting average with four homers and 17 RBI in that time.
The Dodgers are beginning a nine-game, three-city road trip to Arizona, New York (Mets) and Philadelphia, and went 5-4 on their last road trip. They have a 13-7 record outside Dodger Stadium this season.
Arizona opened a six-game homestand by losing two of three games to the Washington Nations and entered Wednesday's series finale winners in three of four games.
In the 5-1 setback to the Nationals, the D'backs gave up four runs in the top of the ninth inning and reliever Brad Ziegler was responsible for all of them. The loss wasted a brilliant effort by starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy, who struck out seven and walked none across eight innings of one-run ball.
"They're all tough. I don't like to lose. It's not how you lose, it's just whether you do," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "It's disappointing, we had a good game."
Ziegler took the hill riding a 19-game scoreless streak (18 1/3 innings).
Aaron Hill posted Arizona's lone run with a homer in the bottom of the fourth inning and the ballclub fell to 4-17 at Chase Field. The D'backs were trying to win their fourth straight series. Gerardo Parra went 2-for-4 and has hit in 11 of his last 12 games.
Diamondbacks starters are 6-2 in May and hope to improve that mark when they send Wade Miley to the mound Friday. Miley is 3-3 with a 4.82 earned run average in nine starts and ended a winless streak his last time out. He was 0-2 in his previous five outings until defeating the Chicago White Sox, 4-3, on Sunday by holding them to two runs in seven innings.
Miley has struggled in four home starts this season, going 1-3 with a lofty 7.43 ERA, and will make his fourth start of the season against the Dodgers. He defeated them on April 18 with six innings of one-run ball and has a lifetime record of 3-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) against Los Angeles.
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