Arizona @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 1, 2011 ) Arizona 5, San Francisco 2

THE STORY: Before the season began, the Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t expected to be battling for first place in August. The surprising Diamondbacks can move into a tie for the top spot in the National League West by beating the host San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. Arizona won the series opener against San Francisco on Monday to pull within one game of the Giants, who have lost four straight games. Arizona has won three consecutive games. Monday’s victory was only Arizona’s third in 10 games against the Giants this season. San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum (7-2 against Arizona) seeks to continue his dominance against the Diamondbacks when he opposes 10-game winner Daniel Hudson.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, FSAZ (Arizona), CSBA (San Francisco).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Daniel Hudson (10-7, 3.81) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (9-8, 2.78)

Hudson has lost back-to-back outings after winning seven consecutive decisions. He has given up nine earned runs in 12 1/3 innings while losing to Colorado (July 22) and San Diego (Thursday). Hudson is 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA in two outings against the Giants this season. He struck out a season-high 10 in six innings while losing to San Francisco on April 15. Overall, he has a 2-2 career mark and 3.38 ERA in four starts against the Giants. Pablo Sandoval is 3-for-7 with two homers against Hudson.

Lincecum has won three of his last four starts. He shut out the Philadelphia Phillies on three hits over six innings in his last outing. Lincecum has allowed just one homer over his last nine starts. He has a 2.42 career ERA in 15 outings against Arizona with 130 strikeouts in 108 innings. Lincecum received a no-decision against Arizona on May 10 despite hurling eight shutout innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out nine. Chris Young is batting just .146 with 15 strikeouts in 41 career at-bats against Lincecum.

ABOUT THE GIANTS (61-48): Right fielder Carlos Beltran went 2-for-4 in his home debut for the Giants. Beltran was just 2-for-17 in his first four games since being acquired from the New York Mets. Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff hit solo homers for San Francisco’s only runs. Nate Schierholtz is just 4-for-30 over his last eight games. Left-hander Barry Zito (foot) was placed on the disabled list Monday. Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez (biceps tendonitis) will replace Zito in the rotation and start Friday against Philadelphia. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery Tuesday. Sanchez, who batted .289 in 60 games, was injured on June 10.

ABOUT THE DIAMONDBACKS (60-49): Arizona is 5-2 on a nine-game road trip that ends Wednesday. The Diamondbacks are 11-5 over their last 16 games. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt made his major-league and went 1-for-4. Goldschmidt, considered one of Arizona’s top prospects, had 30 homers and 94 RBIs at Double-A Mobile. Justin Upton extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is batting .451 during that span. Upton is batting .290 in 31 career at-bats against Lincecum. Gerardo Parra had two hits for his fourth multihit game in his last seven contests. Relievers Sam Demel and Ryan Cook were sent to Triple-A Reno to make room for two recent acquisitions – starter Jason Marquis (Washington) and reliever Brad Ziegler (Oakland).

FINAL PITCH: San Francisco has scored just seven runs during its four-game skid and has tallied just 23 runs over its last 11 games, scoring four or fewer runs in each contest.