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Editor’s note: We are with the Arizona Diamondbacks every game this season and will have you covered here from starting lineups to the last word from the clubhouse.

This is your home for D-Backs game day news and analysis.

SAN DIEGO – Clayton Richard pitched into the seventh inning and Wil Myers and Austin Hedges homered to lead the San Diego Padres to a 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night.

Richard (2-2) gave up a run on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out a season-high eight to win for the first time in his last three starts.

Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his third save and second in consecutive nights.

Myers cracked his fourth homer in the first and Hedges added his third in the seventh as the Padres won their second straight to earn a split of the four-game series.

Patrick Corbin (1-3) limited the Padres to three runs or less for the fourth time at Petco Park. But it wasn’t enough with Richard keeping the Diamondbacks off-balance with his sinker.

Corbin lasted six innings, surrendering three runs on five hits. His eight strikeouts, like Richard’s, came with zero walks.

– Associated Press

D-Backs can’t cash in on chance in seventh

The Diamondbacks couldn’t cash in on a scoring opportunity with their best hitter at the plate in the seventh inning.

After Chris Owings struck out on a pitch in the dirt and reached first on a throwing error by catcher Austin Hedges, the Diamondbacks had men on the corners for Paul Goldschmidt.

But Padres reliever Brad Hand struck out Goldschmidt on three pitches, the last of which was a slider in the dirt that Goldschmidt chased.

The strikeout made Goldschmidt 5 for 33 on the road trip.

Padres grab lead with two in fifth

The Padres took advantage of an apparent misplay by the Diamondbacks to score a pair of runs in the fifth inning and take a 3-1 lead at Petco Park on Thursday night.

Leading off the fifth, Yangervis Solarte hit a ball sharply to the left side, where Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb was unable to make the play. The ball appeared to glance off of Lamb’s glove and shoot through his legs and into left field. It was ruled a double.

Austin Hedges followed with a single to center, putting runners on the corners for Erick Aybar, who for the second time in this series delivered a big hit. Aybar hooked a double just fair inside the left-field line to drive home bothers runners and put the Padres ahead 3-1.

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D-Backs, Padres tied early

SAN DIEGO – Wil Myers’ first-inning solo shot put the San Diego Padres ahead on Thursday night, but the Diamondbacks tied it an inning later on an RBI single by Nick Ahmed.

Myers destroyed a 2-1 fastball from Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin, sending it into the bullpen area beyond the wall in left-center field. Through three innings, it was the only baserunner Corbin had allowed.

Ahmed’s single to right drove in Chris Iannetta, who doubled into the left-field corner with one out in the second. Iannetta clipped Padres catcher Austin Hedges on his way home, and though he was shaken up, Hedges remained in the game.

Hedges had moved up the third-base line to catch the throw from Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe. Iannetta’s left arm appeared to catch Hedges in the head as he went past.

Hoover standing out in D-Backs’ pen

SAN DIEGO – Reliever J.J. Hoover says he can feel the difference, that his right arm and his shoulder are noticeably stronger than last year. The stuff he’s been able to generate has been noticeably better, as well.

Hoover has been something of a revelation out of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, a reclamation project who has made good on the low-risk gamble the club took on him during the offseason.

Entering last year, Hoover owned a 3.34 ERA in parts of four big-league seasons. He went into the season as the Cincinnati Reds closer. But his stuff was down and he struggled badly, getting sent to the minors and ultimately losing his spot on the 40-man roster.

He elected free agency after the season and wound up signing a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks. He won a spot on the roster in spring training and has thrown 6 2/3 innings in relief so far, allowing two runs with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Hoover said that midway through last season he traced the decline in his stuff to his offseason strengthening program.

“I was actually trying to strengthen my arm even more under guidance from the strength staff,” Hoover said. “It didn’t work for me. That’s the crazy thing about baseball. What works for one person doesn’t always work for another.”

This year, though, he said he feels much better, a result of having returned to his previous routine.

“All the small muscles in my arm and shoulder are a lot stronger and I’m able to repeat my delivery,” he said. “There’s more life on my pitches. It just kind of has all come together.”

During an impressive two-inning outing on Monday night at Dodger Stadium, Hoover hit 95 mph with his fastball and was flashing a sharp, darting slider.

He said his goals after last season were first to get a contract, then win a spot on the team and then work his way up to an eighth-inning role. But he’s seen the way the Diamondbacks have deployed relievers so far this season, and he says pitching strictly in a high-leverage role isn’t a priority for him.

“I think we’ll play more matchups,” Hoover said, “and go for whatever is best for that win on that particular night. I am 100 percent completely good with that. I think we’re very versatile. I think that’s one of our strengths.”

Getting better

Manager Torey Lovullo said he’s already seen Brandon Drury grow more comfortable at second base within the season’s first two-plus weeks, evidenced by a couple of nifty flips to start double plays in the past two games.

On Wednesday night, he made a backhanded feed to the shortstop at second. That wasn’t quite as flashy as the play he made on Tuesday, when he flipped it straight from his glove to second.

“I know it’s a lot of hard work that he’s put in the last couple of months that allowed him to make that play,” Lovullo said.

Drury’s angles to balls and his footwork have gotten better, Lovullo said.

“I think that familiarity has come to him very quickly,” he said. “Really, the first step and the angle you’re taking to the ball in the middle of the diamond is crucial and he’s starting to get a good feel for that.”

Still effective

Right-hander Zack Greinke threw just four pitches that cracked 90 mph on Wednesday night but was still highly effective, giving up just one run in an eight-inning complete game. The Diamondbacks lost 1-0, with Erick Aybar’s eighth-inning solo homer the difference.

“Velocity wise, I know it wasn’t something that he was probably comfortable with, but he made pitches,” Lovullo said. “He executed pitches. He was throwing every pitch he wanted to where he wanted, and it was a pretty impressive night.”

Short hops

  • Outfielder Gregor Blanco (oblique) played five innings in center field and got five at-bats in an extended spring training game on Thursday, Lovullo said. He could play again on Saturday.
  • Lovullo said right-hander Jake Barrett (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice session and that lefty Steve Hathaway (shoulder) will pitch in an extended spring training game on Saturday.
  • Right-hander Rubby De La Rosa (elbow) was scheduled to pitch in an extended game on Thursday but had a “non-baseball situation he had to take care of,” Lovullo said, adding that De La Rosa will instead pitch on Friday.

MCMANAMAN: Chill out on Paul Goldschmidt’s cold start

Lineup set

The Diamondbacks will place Chris Owings in right field and Nick Ahmed at shortstop for Thursday night’s game against left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard and the Padres.

Thursday’s game

Diamondbacks at Padres

When: 6:10 p.m.

Where: Petco Park, San Diego.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (1-2, 2.81) vs. Padres LHP Clayton Richard (1-2, 3.60).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

MORE: Diamondbacks’ Zack Greinke makes fatal mistake in pitchers’ duel

Game notes

Corbin was in trouble throughout much of his start last week at Dodger Stadium, but he managed to navigate his way through six innings, giving up five runs (three earned). … He has just seven strikeouts and seven walks in 16 innings. … Corbin logged 13 2/3 innings against the Padres last season, posting a 3.95 ERA with six walks and 14 strikeouts. … Richard tossed eight scoreless innings against the Dodgers in his first start of the season but has allowed four earned runs over six innings in each of the past two. … Richard, who split last season between the Cubs and Padres, faced the Diamondbacks three times and had solid results, posting a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings. … Richard has a three-pitch mix, with a fastball around 90 mph, a slider and a change-up.

Coming up

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (2-1, 3.94) vs. Dodgers LHP Alex Wood (1-0, 1.00).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (1-0, 1.96) vs. Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (1-1, 7.07).

Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (2-1,3.50) vs. Dodgers RHP Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 2.12).