While they’ve been struggling, the Arizona Diamondbacks have to feel good about a visit to Kauffman Stadium.

The Diamondbacks will go for their sixth straight victory in Kansas City on Friday night when they open a three-game series against a Royals team that has struggled to pick up wins at home.

It’s been more than two weeks since Arizona last won back-to-back games, and the Diamondbacks (17-22) will try to change that following a 9-7 victory over Colorado on Thursday.

Justin Upton hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, helping the Diamondbacks post their fourth victory in 15 games. He came into Thursday batting .173 over the previous 13 contests but walked three times before his homer.

“That was nice,” Upton said. “Just being able to put all my struggles aside and come up big for the team. That’s always a goal, but it’s not always that easy. When you can get it done, it definitely feels good.”

Arizona swept a three-game series in Kansas City last year to improve to 9-3 at Kauffman Stadium. Upton is 9 for 21 with five doubles in his last five games there.

With Joe Saunders (2-3, 3.43 ERA) taking the mound in the opener, the Diamondbacks appear to have a good chance of continuing their success at Kauffman Stadium.

The left-hander improved to 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA against the Royals after allowing two runs in seven innings of a 7-2 win June 21.

However, after a strong beginning to the season, Saunders has struggled in back-to-back outings.

He gave up six earned runs for a second straight start Sunday, allowing a season-high 10 hits over five innings of a 7-3 loss to San Francisco.

The Royals (15-22) are looking to get back on track after losing a pair to Baltimore this week. They had won six of seven before hosting the Orioles, who won 5-3 on Thursday.

Kansas City, which fell to 4-15 at home, had a lead in both losses. The Royals gave up two runs in the ninth of a 4-3 defeat in 15 innings Wednesday before failing to protect a 3-2 lead Thursday, allowing three runs in the seventh.

“It’s real tough because you want to defend home so bad,” center fielder Jarrod Dyson told the Royals’ official website. “It’s kind of frustrating when you know you had the game won.”

Kansas City will hand the ball to Luis Mendoza (2-2, 4.76), who is taking Danny Duffy’s spot in the rotation after Duffy was placed on the disabled list with a torn ulnar ligament in his left elbow.

Mendoza, who has never faced the Diamondbacks, pitched 5 2-3 innings in relief of Duffy against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. He gave up one run and seven hits while striking out four to earn the win.

The right-hander made four starts in April, going 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA.

Royals manager Ned Yost said slumping first baseman Eric Hosmer will likely be held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game Friday. Hosmer is batting .174 this season, going 5 for 40 against left-handers.

The Diamondbacks reinstated outfielder Chris Young from the disabled list hours before this game. Young, who had been on the DL since hurting his right shoulder April 17, was hitting .410 with five homers and 13 RBIs in his first 11 games before getting hurt.

The 2012 MLB regular season is well underway with a full month of baseball already in the books. It is still a long road to October baseball but paths are already starting to take shape and many surprises have already occurred along the way. The beginning of the year brings promise but at this point in the season anything can still happen.

The highlight of the day will be when the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

Lance Lynn (5-0, 1.60 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals looking for his sixth win of the season facing off against Joe Saunders (2-1, 1.24 ERA) of the Diamondbacks. St. Louis is proving that a single superstar does not make for a successful team by leading the National League Central while Arizona is putting up a strong fight to contend in the National League West.

With a number of great games to be played on the day, this will be one of the better ones.

Check your local listings for game times and channel listings in your area. With MLB.TV all games are also available nationwide (local blackouts apply).

Note: All start times Eastern

Monday, May 7, 2012

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, 1:05 p.m. (Game 1)

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 p.m. (Game 2)

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 p.m.

Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Miami Marlins at Houston Astros, 8:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 p.m.

Boston Red Sox at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 p.m.

Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m.

Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, 10:05 p.m.

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 p.m.

San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.

NEW YORK – That the Diamondbacks were shut down by a left-handed pitcher Thursday night in Washington should come as no surprise. Left-handers have given them fits this season.

The Diamondbacks entered Friday tied for the lowest on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) in the majors against left-handers at .578.

Manager Kirk Gibson said he was talking with hitting coach Don Baylor on Thursday about what they can do to help their hitters improve.

“It’s something we’re going to try to work on,” Gibson said.

Among those with ugly numbers:

- Catcher Miguel Montero is 1 for 18 (.056).

- Shortstop Willie Bloomquist is 3 for 22 (.136).

- And perhaps most surprising, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is 4 for 21 (.190). He also struggled against them (6 for 37) after getting called up last season.

Goldschmidt hit right-handers well in the minor leagues, but he absolutely destroyed lefties. In 2010, he hit .413 with an .860 slugging vs. left-handers with High A Visalia. Last year with Double-A Mobile, Goldschmidt had a .376 average, .519 on-base and .871 slugging against them.

The Diamondbacks have a regular left-handed batting-practice pitcher, but Gibson said the team has talked about bringing in an additional lefty to throw BP when the club returns home from this road trip as a way of giving hitters additional repetitions.

Pitchers shagging

A day after New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore a knee ligament shagging fly balls during batting practice, Gibson called the injury “freakish” and said he isn’t concerned about any of his pitchers getting hurt.

“There’s nobody on our team I’d be worried that they’re unjustly putting themselves exposed to injury,” he said.

Left-hander Joe Paterson, who was sent to Triple-A Reno last month, might have been the club’s most aggressive pitcher during batting practice.

Second start

Left-hander Pat Corbin hopes some of the nerves from his first start are gone, even if he has a different wrinkle to confront Saturday against the Mets.

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., he’s excited to get a chance to pitch in his home state in front of what he figures will be a big group of family and friends.

“It works out pretty good,” he said. “Being my second start, going back home to New York, only a couple of hours away from my house. It should be exciting.”

Injury updates

Right-hander Daniel Hudson (shoulder impingment) was scheduled to throw a flat-ground session Friday, and Gibson mapped out a tentative schedule for him, assuming all goes well.

Hudson will throw off a mound Tuesday and face hitters Friday before a possible minor-league rehab assignment around the middle of the month. Gibson made it sound as if Hudson would make two starts in the minors. If it plays out that way, he could be able to return around May 26.

Center field Chris Young (strained shoulder ligament) continues to make progress, going from hitting off a tee to hitting balls flipped to him.

“He gets a little sore hanging onto the bat,” Gibson said. “He’s kind of letting go right now more than he probably would. … He started to throw just a little bit. He’s probably behind on the throwing aspect of it.”

Shortstop Stephen Drew played three innings against the Chicago Cubs’ extended-spring-training team Thursday, his first game against a non-intrasquad team, the Diamondbacks announced. He went 0 for 1 with a walk and a was hit by pitch, and he fielded all three ground balls hit to him.

NEW YORK — There were times, Cody Ransom admitted, when he wondered if he were destined to be just a minor-leaguer. Maybe he was good enough for Triple-A but didn’t quite have what it takes to be a big-leaguer.

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Diamondbacks at Mets photos | Friday’s box score | Twitter updates

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“There was a time,” he said, “when I thought I was done. In 2005. I thought I was done playing already.”

Maybe Ransom is just getting started. The 36-year-old journeyman infielder delivered two more huge hits for the Diamondbacks, drilling a two-run homer and knocking in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single in a 5-4 victory over the New York Mets on Friday at Citi Field.

The win snapped a two-game skid, gave the Diamondbacks their first one-run victory since April 8 and, with two games remaining, assured them of at least a .500 record on an arduous 10-game road trip.

Once again, Ransom played a huge part. At the time the Diamondbacks brought him up from Triple-A on April 18, he had amassed a little more than a half-season’s worth of at-bats in the major leagues in parts of nine seasons. Most were cups of coffee, a handful of at-bats here and there while someone was on the disabled list, but Ransom rarely was able to make the most of the opportunities.

“I’ve had a lot of them,” he said. “There’s been times when I’ve had opportunities and I’d come up and don’t play a lot and play off the bench. It’s a great job if you can do it. I’ve been good at it at times and really bad at it at times. Hopefully, it’s time for some good ones.”

Ransom has provided the kind of lift for the Diamondbacks that Ryan Roberts gave them last season. But as Roberts has struggled this year to hit his weight, Ransom has seen more time at third base.

With two hits Friday, he is 10 for 29 (.345) with three doubles and three home runs. Not bad for a guy who owned a .220 average in the majors entering the year.

“Confidence is probably a big part of it,” he said. “Knowing that I can play here and actually believing it. Not trying to do too much. I go down to Triple-A, and I put up pretty good numbers. I try to take that same approach here and not try to do too much.”

Ransom, who attended Chandler High, didn’t play much in Triple-A for the Chicago Cubs in 2005, and he wondered if the end was near. But he latched on with Houston the next year and made it back to the majors. He has been up and down from the minors every year since.

“It’s hard to put it all together in the big leagues,” Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero said. “I don’t know if he ever had an opportunity to play every day in the big leagues, but right now I think he’s going to get a lot of playing time. He’s been huge for us. I’ve got a feeling every time he comes to the plate right now that he’s going to get a big hit.”

Ransom lined a first-pitch fastball from Mets right-hander Dillon Gee into the left-field stands in the second inning to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead. But after the Mets scored four times in the third, the Diamondbacks had to rally in the eighth.

After Paul Goldschmidt shot a game-tying, two-run double into right-center, Ransom gave his team the lead by lining a full-count slider from former Diamondbacks reliever Jon Rauch into left field for a hit.

“Just tried to get a pitch and stay through the middle,” Ransom said. “I’ve been a little too aggressive with runners in scoring position, so I was trying to be a little more patient and get a little better pitch to hit.”

Diamondbacks rewind

Miley battles: Left-hander Wade Miley had trouble spotting his fastball, but he was able to shake off a rough third inning and make it through six innings.

He said one key was pitching backward, i.e., throwing breaking balls early in the count before going to the fastball.

“Once you’re out there and you’re not feeling great, you’ve got to figure out a way to win, a way to keep the team in the game,” he said. “We were able to do that tonight.”

Goldschmidt’s big hit: Paul Goldschmidt was hitless in three at-bats when he came to the plate with the tying run on base in the eighth inning. He lined the first pitch he saw from right-hander Jon Rauch for a two-run double.

“I was just looking for something to hit, whether it was early or late in the count, just something up a little bit,” Goldschmidt said. “He threw his slider or cutter or whatever he has, and it was up and middle of the plate, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”

Putz closes it: After two outings in which his command wasn’t good, closer J.J. Putz looked to be back on track in the ninth inning, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.

“His split was much better,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “When you see (catcher Miguel Montero) blocking it in the dirt like that, you know it’s good.”

Center fielder Gerardo Parra made a diving catch of a Daniel Murphy line drive in the gap to end the game.

View from the press box

Former Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch, who died Friday of cancer, was known to be a big Mets fan, and the players had a cool way to pay tribute to him. Every Mets player came to bat to a Beastie Boys song, an idea hatched by infielder Justin Turner and outfielder Scott Hairston. The Mets were rocking out to their songs in the clubhouse before the game.

PHOENIX — Tommy Hanson pitched seven strong innings, Dan Uggla homered and the streaking Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Saturday night.

Hanson allowed two runs on five hits for the Braves, who have won 10 of 11. Hanson (2-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired the last 13 batters he faced.

Uggla broke a 2-all tie with a one-out towering drive to left, his 12th career homer against the Diamondbacks.

Johnny Venters struck out the side in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel did the same in the ninth for his fifth save.

Arizona starter Joe Saunders (1-1) settled down after Uggla’s home run, retiring 13 of his final 14 batters, but couldn’t prevent the Diamondbacks’ fifth straight loss.

Saunders gave up three runs — two earned — on six hits and a walk over seven innings and struck out five and saw his ERA creep up to 1.29.

Struggles at the plate have been a problem for the Diamondbacks, who have scored two runs or less in four straight games.

Saunders walked Chipper Jones with the bases loaded in the first to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Gerardo Parra singled, went to third on a double by Upton and scored on an RBI groundout by Miguel Montero.

Jack Wilson singled and scored on Martin Prado’s two-out single in the second to make it 2-1. But Kubel tied the game for the second time with his home run, his first since August 31 for the Minnesota Twins against the Chicago White Sox.

NOTES: Atlanta entered the game with 74 runs scored in its previous 10 games and had lost 3-of-4 games this season when scoring three or fewer runs. . Saunders has allowed four runs — three earned — in 21 innings. . Kubel’s home run ended a streak of 101 at bats without a homer for the Diamondbacks. . Atlanta RF Jason Heyward’s 10-game hitting streak was snapped. He went 0 for 4 and was called out on strikes in his first and last at bats. . Upton is 4 for 9 in his career against Hanson. . Diamondbacks RHP Ian Kennedy will attempt to win his third game without a loss and also end Arizona’s losing streak on Sunday afternoon when he faced Atlanta RHP Randall Delgado. Delgado has won both his starts despite pitching only 1-3 of an inning above the minimum five in each.

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Bourn cf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .306

Prado lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 .273

Freeman 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .276

McCann c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .286

Uggla 2b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .241

C.Jones 3b 3 0 0 1 1 1 .286

Heyward rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .315

J.Wilson ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .125

Hanson p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .143

Venters p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

Kimbrel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

Totals 32 3 6 3 2 8

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Bloomquist ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 .224

G.Parra cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .216

J.Upton rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .216

M.Montero c 3 0 0 1 1 1 .239

Goldschmidt 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .244

Kubel lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 .250

A.Hill 2b 3 0 1 0 0 2 .235

R.Roberts 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .173

J.Saunders p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

a-Pollock ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Shaw p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

D.Hernandez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

Totals 31 2 5 2 1 13

Atlanta 111 000 000–3 6 0

Arizona 110 000 000–2 5 1

a-grounded out for J.Saunders in the 7th.

E–A.Hill (3). LOB–Atlanta 5, Arizona 4. 2B–J.Upton (3). HR–Uggla (2), off J.Saunders; Kubel (1), off Hanson. RBIs–Prado (8), Uggla (8), C.Jones (8), M.Montero (8), Kubel (5). CS–Bourn (3). S–Hanson, J.Saunders.

Runners left in scoring position–Atlanta 2 (Heyward 2); Arizona 3 (Goldschmidt, Bloomquist, Kubel). RISP–Atlanta 1 for 6; Arizona 0 for 4.

Runners moved up–Bourn, M.Montero.

Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Hanson W, 2-2 7 5 2 2 1 7 104 3.38

Venters H, 4 1 0 0 0 0 3 12 0.00

Kimbrel S, 5-5 1 0 0 0 0 3 14 1.50

Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

J.Saunders L, 1-1 7 6 3 2 1 5 92 1.29

Shaw 1 0 0 0 1 0 15 1.13

D.Hernandez 1 0 0 0 0 3 13 3.68

Umpires–Home, Joe West; First, Sam Holbrook; Second, Andy Fletcher; Third, Rob Drake.

T–2:17. A–30,188 (48,633).

The San Francisco Giants will play 72 regular-season games against NL West opponents during the 2012 MLB season. Those opponents include the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The home and away games will be evenly distributed at 36.

The Giants will start their season with a three-game road series against the Diamondbacks from April 6 through April 8. They’ll finish their season with a three-game road series against the Dodgers from October 1 through October 3. The Giants will finish the final month of the season (plus October) with 16 of their 28 divisional games at San Francisco.

Here is a brief rundown of the Giants’ schedule against divisional opponents for the 2012 MLB season.

Complete MLB schedule can be found HERE.

April 2012 (3 Home, 6 Road)

April 6-8: at Arizona Diamondbacks

April 9, 11-12: at Colorado Rockies

April 27-29: San Diego Padres

May 2012 (5 Home, 6 Road)

May 7-9: at Los Angeles Dodgers

May 11-13: at Arizona Diamondbacks

May 14-15: Colorado Rockies

May 28-30: Arizona Diamondbacks

June 2012 (3 Home, 3 Road)

June 5-7: at San Diego Padres

June 25-27: Los Angeles Dodgers

July 2012 (6 Home, 0 Road)

July 23-25: San Diego Padres

July 27-29: Los Angeles Dodgers

August 2012 (3 Home, 9 Road)

August 3-5: at Colorado Rockies

August 10-12: Colorado Rockies

August 17-19: at San Diego Padres

August 20-22: at Los Angeles Dodgers

September And October 2012 (16 Home, 12 Road)

September 3-5: Arizona Diamondbacks

September 7-9: Los Angeles Dodgers

September 10-12: at Colorado Rockies

September 14-16: at Arizona Diamondbacks

September 17-20: Colorado Rockies

September 21-23: San Diego Padres

September 25-27: Arizona Diamondbacks

September 28-30: at San Diego Padres

October 1-3: at Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB schedules subject to change due to rainouts or any other unanticipated postponement.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood’s(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie’s defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.

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