Padres-Diamondbacks Saturday Night Preview

SAN DIEGO -- Robbie Ray could be getting untracked.

The Arizona Diamondbacks certainly hope that's the case.

Over his last two starts, the 24-year-old left-hander has allowed one earned run in 12 innings -- a vast improvement over his 6-11 season with a 4.47 earned run average.

"He's recently been the pitcher we know he can be," Arizona manager Chip Hale said.

Saturday night at Petco Park, Ray will be paired against recycled Padres veteran Clayton Richard in a match of left-handers as the four-game series between the National League West's two worst teams continues.

Richard, 32, will be making his fourth appearance and second start with the Padres since signing for a second tour with the club on Aug. 6 as a free agent. Richard, who previously played with the Padres between 2009 and 2013, is 0-1 with the Padres with a 4.27 ERA over 6 1/3 innings.

Richard's first start for the Padres came against the New York Mets last Sunday at CitiField. He gave up two runs -- on a pair of solo homers -- over five innings to suffer the loss. He allowed three hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

The addition of Richard to a young rotation helps Padres manager Andy Green in several areas.

First, it enabled the Padres to go to a six-man rotation at least through next week to assist in limiting the innings of several other young starters. And it has added a veteran presence to the rotation.

"Clayton has already influenced some of our younger pitchers," said Green. "I love the way he handles himself. I think he's a great example not only on the day he pitches but in between starts, the way he prepares. Handling the days in between starts is almost as critical as the way you pitch."

The Padres are looking to get Christian Friedrich out of the rotation within the next two weeks to limit his innings. They also hope to have Tyson Ross returning in September. Ross, who has not pitched since injuring his shoulder on Opening Day, is scheduled to face live hitters for the second time in a week Saturday. If all goes as planned, Ross will start a rehab assignment next week.

"I don't think we need to extend him out that far because he might be throwing only three or four innings in several September starts," said Green. "But having Ross back and Richard will give us the flexibility to take some innings off some of the other younger starters."

Ray, meanwhile, had a 5-12 won-loss record as a rookie in 2015 despite posting the fourth-lowest ERA by a rookie starter in Diamondbacks history. His two-season won-loss record is 11-23.

"That's unfortunate and misleading," said Hale of Ray's record. "He's pitched better than that. Over the last two seasons, we haven't helped him as much as we could have."

Ray will be looking for his first road win since June 17 in Philadelphia. He will be making his second career start against the Padres. He suffered the loss on June 26, 2015 at Petco Park despite allowing two runs over six innings.

With two wins in the first two games of the series, the Padres have moved two games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the battle to avoid the cellar in the National League West.