SAN DIEGO -- A tourist is coming to town, which generally is not big news in San Diego.
However, when that visitor is Zack Greinke, the San Diego Padres take notice.
Greinke leads the Arizona Diamondbacks against San Diego on Friday night in the second contest of this three-game series. The Padres won a 9-8 in the series opener Thursday.
Both teams are playing out the string on disappointing seasons, but Greinke, no matter what team is on the front of his jersey, does well at Petco Park.
The right-hander, who left the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason, is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in eight career starts in San Diego's downtown digs. That includes winning his only decision in two starts against the Padres this year, and it came at Petco.
Overall, Greinke has dominated the Padres to the tune of 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA.
San Diego could be the soothing tonic Greinke seeks after getting blistered in his last outing. He lasted only 1 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox, as they ambushed him for nine runs, 10 hits and three home runs on Sunday.
"It just happened so fast, I didn't realize how bad it actually was," Greinke said.
It was the second-most runs ever allowed by Greinke, falling short of the 11 he yielded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 2005 game while he was with the Kansas City Royals.
Greinke pitched like royalty before the Boston massacre. In his previous 10 starts, he was 8-0 with a nifty 2.47. That is why Arizona manager Chip Hale expects Greinke will find his groove again while battling a lineup consisting mostly of rookies instead of proven hitters who litter the Red Sox's order.
"Well, they just hit everything he threw up there," Hale said after the Sunday game. "It was good pitches they hit. He obviously had some bad locations on some that they hit also. But it was one of those days. We've all been there. We've all been on the good side, and we've all been on the bad side."
The Padres are looking for the good side from their Friday starter, Jarred Cosart, who was acquired in July from the Miami Marlins.
Cosart (0-1, 5.03 ERA overall) is making his fourth start as a Padre and his eighth in total this year. The right-hander pitched well his last time out on Saturday, although he didn't figure in the decision. In six innings, he allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two as the Padres dropped a 3-2, 11-inning decision to the New York Mets.
Cosart recorded 15 of his 18 outs via groundballs.
"That's usually the kind of pitcher I am," Cosart told MLB.com. "Ground-ball guy -- that's what I've been in the past, going all the way back to the minor leagues.
"Earlier this year and my last two starts, I was up in the zone a little bit, a little sporadic. If you pitch up in the zone to any big league team, you're going to get hit."
The Padres (51-70) and Diamondbacks (50-71), battling to avoid the NL West cellar, will be familiar with each other down the stretch. Over the final 41 games, they will play each other nine times.
