Tyson Ross' uncharacteristic start his last time out began a losing streak for the San Diego Padres. The right-hander hopes a return to normalcy will help his team string two wins together.
Ross takes the mound Tuesday night against the host Arizona Diamondbacks looking to win a fifth straight road decision.
Ross (10-10, 3.24 ERA) was bitten by the home run for the first time this season during a 4-3 loss to Colorado on Thursday. He went 16 straight starts without allowing a homer earlier this year - the second-longest streak in franchise history - but gave up three solo shots to the Rockies, the first game an opponent has hit more than one against him since June 16, 2014.
Ross, battling a stomach bug, didn't factor into the decision after allowing three runs in seven innings.
"I didn't feel great physically out there," Ross told MLB's official website. "But I tried to grind it through, tried to make pitches and keep us in the ballgame."
The loss was the first of four straight for San Diego (68-77), a skid that was snapped with a 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks (68-76) in Monday's opener.
Wil Myers' leadoff home run ignited a five-run first inning, a number the Padres matched in the fifth to post 2 1/2 times their total (4) from a three-game sweep in San Francisco this weekend.
Ross is 4-0 with a 2.79 ERA in his last five road starts and tossed a four-hitter with nine strikeouts in an 8-1 victory at Chase Field on June 20. He hasn't allowed a home run in three meetings against Arizona this year, going 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA.
Ross has given up just two homers to the Diamondbacks in 11 career starts on the way to a 4-3 record and 2.79 ERA. Paul Goldschmidt hit both of those home runs, one in 2013 and the other in 2014.
Goldschmidt drove in the Diamondbacks' first run Monday with an RBI double in the first inning, joining Luis Gonzalez (2011-12) as the only players in club history with multiple 100-RBI seasons.
It was one of the few bright spots for Arizona, which has dropped three straight and eight of 11.
"They are embarrassed by the performance as a team, as a group, but I am sure they will bounce back," manager Chip Hale said.
Two quality starts at the end of August weren't enough to keep Jhoulys Chacin with the Diamondbacks as he was sent to Triple-A Reno.
Chacin (0-1, 2.70) was called up last Tuesday and will stay in the rotation the rest of the season.
The veteran right-hander is 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in nine career starts against the Padres, but hasn't faced them since 2013 with Colorado.
San Diego catcher Derek Norris left in the first inning Monday after getting hit on the top of his right hand by a foul ball off the bat of Goldschmidt.
The Padres will be without first baseman Yonder Alonso the rest of the season as he was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a stress reaction to a bone in his lower back.
