TONIGHT IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona (24-20) at Colorado (17-22) 3:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- DENVER (Ticker) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks look to conclude their seven-game road trip on a winning note today against the Colorado Rockies. Arizona took two of three from San Francisco to open the trip and lost two straight to the Rockies before an 8-3 victory Saturday. Omar Daal pitched a complete game and snapped Larry Walker's hitting streak at 21 games. The Diamondbacks gave up eight runs in each of their previous three games. Armando Reynoso (2-1, 3.89 ERA) faces his former team for the first time this season. Reynoso, who pitched for Colorado from 1993-96, has been very sharp in his last three starts, allowing just five earned runs and 23 hits over 19 innings, resulting in a win and two no-decisions. Reynoso has surrendered two earned runs or less in five of his six starts and pitched at least six innings five times. He is 1-0 with a 3.14 ERA in two career games against the Rockies. Colorado failed in a bid to match a season-high three-game winning streak Saturday. The Rockies have lost 10 of 17 games at Coors Field this season. Mark Brownson (0-0, 5.06) makes his second start of the season for Colorado. The 23-year-old righthander faced Cincinnati on Tuesday and gave up three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision. This is his first appearance against Arizona. The Rockies have won four of six meetings between the teams this season. Pittsburgh (20-22) at Florida (13-30) 4:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates try to salvage a split of their four-game series with baseball's worst team -- the Florida Marlins. Pittburgh ended a season-high five-game losing streak with an 11-4 victory Saturday. The Pirates scored just 12 runs during the losing streak. Pirates catcher Jason Kendall has reached base safely in 20 of his last 21 games and is hitting .434 (33-for-76) in May. Jason Schmidt (4-3, 3.77 ERA) looks to end his personal losing streak at two games for Pittsburgh. The righthander has allowed 11 runs -- eight earned -- and 16 hits over 10 2/3 in losses to Houston and Atlanta. Schmidt gave up more than three runs only once in his first five starts this season but has done so three times in his last four outings. Schmidt beat the Marlins in his only appearance against them last season. The Marlins' longest winning streak of the season ended at two games Saturday, but they are a respectable 7-8 since opening the season 6-22. Alex Fernandez (1-2, 1.64) hopes to keep up his effective pitching for Florida. When healthy, the righthander has been very sharp this season, allowing just four earned runs and 20 hits over 22 innings with seven walks and 16 strikeouts. He turned in his best start of the season Tuesday in a no-decision against the Cubs, pitching seven scoreless innings. Fernandez is 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA in two career starts against Pittsburgh. Houston (25-16) at San Francisco (25-18) 4:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Houston Astros righthander Jose Lima looks to become the first eight-game winner in the National League today and help his team avoid a three-game sweep against the San Francisco Giants. Lima (7-1, 2.98 ERA) tries to join Boston's Pedro Martinez as the only eight-game winners in the majors while Curt Schilling of the Philadelphia Phillies is also seeking his eighth win against the New York Mets today. Martinez is pitching today against the Toronto Blue Jays. Since losing his first start of the season, Lima has won seven straight outings, allowing three earned runs or less in each. Lima defeated the Dodgers on Tuesday, giving up three runs and seven hits in seven innings. In 57 1/3 innings, he has issued just nine walks and struck out 43. Lima allowed three runs and six hits over six innings in a 6-3 victory at San Francisco on April 14. He is 3-1 lifetime against the Giants. Russ Ortiz yielded one unearned run and three hits over 6 2/3 innings for his fifth straight victory as the Giants kept Chris Holt winless with a 3-1 triumph Saturday. San Francisco has won three straight games to move back in front of Arizona for the lead in the National League West. The Giants have won 10 of their last 14 at home, improving to 16-9 at 3Com Park. Houston has lost two straight road games for the first time this season and is in danger of matching a season-high three-game losing streak. Shawn Estes (2-3, 5.55) tries to snap a four-start winless streak for the Giants. The lefty is 0-2 with a 5.81 ERA in four starts since beating Colorado on April 24. He was tagged for six runs -- three earned -- and six hits over six innings in a 12-1 loss to Arizona on Monday. Estes was ripped for four runs and 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to Houston on April 14. He has split two lifetime decisions against the Astros. The teams have split eight games this season. St Louis (22-19) at Los Angeles (22-20) 4:10 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Following a couple of high scoring affairs, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers meet in the rubber game of their three-game series. The Cardinals won the series opener, 10-6, on Friday before the Dodgers posted a 10-7 win Saturday. St. Louis has won five of its last seven games, while Saturday's victory was just the second in seven games for Los Angeles. Mark McGwire of the Cardinals hit two homers Saturday, including a mammoth blast that left Dodger Stadium and was measured at 484 feet. Darren Oliver (3-2, 3.25 ERA) looks to win consecutive starts for the Cardinals. The lefthander held San Diego to two runs and four hits over seven innings in a 5-2 victory Tuesday after going 0-1 in his previous three starts. Oliver has been very effective in four road starts this season, going 2-0 with a 2.97 ERA. Oliver has never faced the Dodgers. Carlos Perez (1-5, 6.63) hopes to rebound from two straight dismal starts. The lefthander has been rocked for 12 runs -- 10 earned -- and 12 hits over 9 1/3 innings in losses to the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. He has surrendered six runs in four of his six starts. Perez went 0-1 in two starts against St. Louis last season while with Montreal. He is 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA in 43 career innings against the Cardinals. St. Louis leads the season series, 5-3. Cincinnati (20-19) at San Diego (17-24) 5:00 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The surging Cincinnati Reds look to go two games over .500 for the first time in more than two years today when they face the San Diego Padres in the rubber game of a three-game series. Pete Harnisch pitched a complete game and also hit a two-run homer as the Reds blanked the Padres, 3-0, on Saturday. Cincinnati, which has won six of its last seven games, ended an eight-game losing streak at San Diego on Saturday. The Reds have not been two games over the break-even mark since winning the first two contests of the 1997 season. Coming off another quality outing, Steve Avery (2-3, 2.56 ERA) starts for Cincinnati. The lefthander limited Milwaukee to one unearned run and two hits over five innings in a 9-1 victory on May 11. Avery has surrendered two runs or less in all but two of his seven starts. He had pitched at least seven innings in his first five outings before lasting five frames in his last two starts. Avery is 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 career games against the Padres. With Kevin Brown, Ken Caminiti, Greg Vaughn and Steve Finley elsewhere, the Padres are way off last season's pennant-winning pace. They were 27-14 after 41 games last season. Matt Clement (0-4, 4.58) tries again for his first win of the season. The 24-year-old righthander pitched well in his last start on Tuesday but took the loss, allowing three runs and six hits over seven innings against St. Louis. Clement has held opponents to three earned runs or less in six straight starts. The Padres have scored just 25 runs in his seven starts.  