Wed Apr 16 11:01:17 2008

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Former Cy Young winners square off in the Bay Area

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(Sports Network) - The San Francisco Giants wrap up a 10-game homestand this afternoon with what could be a daunting challenge, as the club faces a locked- in Brandon Webb in the rubber match of a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Webb has been excellent in each of his first three outings of 2008. The two- time All-Star and 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner has yielded two runs in all of those starts while holding enemy hitters to a .160 average, as he's allowed just 12 hits in 21 innings pitched.

The standout right-hander's most recent start was his best of the bunch. Against Colorado on Friday, Webb limited the Rockies to two runs and four hits while walking just one over eight splendid innings.

Webb has also had good career success against the Giants, having compiled a 9-5 record and a 3.30 earned run average in 19 starts versus today's foe. The 28-year-old also owns a 4-2 mark with a 2.70 ERA in nine previous games at AT&T Park.

Micah Owings joined Webb as a three-game winner when the young Arizona hurler threw six outstanding innings to lead his squad to an 8-2 victory over the Giants on Tuesday.

Owings (3-0) permitted just one run and three hits while striking out six to win his fifth straight regular-season start dating back to last September and lower his ERA to an impressive 2.29. The second-year pitcher received plenty of support from Conor Jackson and Chris Young, both of whom hit home runs on the evening.

Jackson finished 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Diamondbacks, who stopped a two-game slide that followed eight consecutive wins. Young also had two hits, including his two-run blast in the third inning, and scored twice.

Kevin Correia (1-2) served up both long balls and allowed five runs through six innings in the loss, which dropped the Giants to 5-4 on their current home stretch.

San Francisco will send out its intended ace this afternoon in the well-paid Barry Zito, who has found himself on the losing end of all three of his season starts. The free-agent disappointment's last trip to the hill was an improvement over the first two, however.

Zito held St. Louis to a run over his first four innings last Friday before surrendering a three-run homer to Albert Pujols in the fifth. Pujols' blast followed an error by the Giants' Ray Durham, making all three of those runs unearned.

A former Cy Young winner as well, Zito also has solid lifetime numbers against Arizona. The quirky left-hander has a 2.53 ERA over five previous starts versus the Diamondbacks, despite a 2-3 record. In his lone matchup with Arizona at home last year, Zito fired 7 1/3 shutout innings to lead San Francisco to a 1-0 victory.

Arizona won 10 of its 18 matchups with the Giants last year, but San Francisco is 7-4 in its last 11 contests against the D-Backs at AT&T Park.