Padres try avoid sweep against Diamondbacks

SAN DIEGO -- Thankfully, the Padres have a lot to cheer about this week.

Trevor Hoffman is being inducted into the Hall of Fame Sunday. As part of the celebration, the Padres are opening the gates to Petco Park at 10 a.m. Sunday morning so that their fans can catch the induction ceremonies on the huge video board.

After that, the Padres will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third game of the first of four series the two teams will play between now and the end of the season.

The game could be another tough reality check for the Padres, who find themselves somewhere between a plummet and a free-fall.

The Diamondbacks will be going for a sweep Sunday as right-handed veteran Clay Buchholz (3-1, 2.38 ERA) takes the mound against Padres left-handed rookie Joey Lucchesi (5-5, 3.34 ERA).

Clearly, this is a match between two teams headed in opposite directions.

After winning the first two games of the series by scores of 6-2 and 9-4, the Diamondbacks are looking for the sweep that would keep them within striking distance of the National League West-leading Dodgers.

Meanwhile, the Padres are just looking for a win.

Saturday night's lost marked the 12th straight time that the Padres have failed to win a series. They are 0-11 with one split since their second series in June. And since they rallied to climb to within four games of .500 at 34-38 -- the Padres have gone 8-27 and are closing in on a 100-loss pace.

Going into Sunday, the Padres have lost four in a row and are 2-11 over their last 13 games.

Their homes of avoiding a sweep rest with the 25-year-old Lucchesi, who actually won his first start coming out of the All-Star break against the Mets in New York.

Lucchesi will be making his 16th start of the season and his third against the Diamondbacks. He is 0-2 against Arizona, allowing six runs on eight hits (including a Nick Ahmed homer) and five walks with nine strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings -- for a 5.23 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

Lucchesi allowed the Mets two runs on six hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in his most recent start to snap a two-game losing streak. On the season, Lucchesi has a 1.21 WHIP and a .232 opponents' batting average. The Padres are 6-9 in Lucchesi's first 15 starts. He has 75 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings. He has surrendered 10 homers, although none in his last five outings.

Buchholz, who signed with Arizona as a minor league free agent on May 4, is 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP in his last three starts, although only one of those -- a win against the Cubs on July 24 -- came since returned from missing a month on the disabled list with a left oblique strain.

Buchholz will be making his second career start against the Padres. He picked up the win on Sept. 6, 2016, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings in an outing at Petco Park.

Buchholz has a 0.99 WHIP and .216 opponents' batting average this season.