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SD@HOU: Cashner flirts with no-no, fans nine

The last time Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner faced a highly touted D-backs pitching prospect, he left after just two innings with a shoulder injury, forcing him to spend upward of two months on the shelf.

Now healthy again, Cashner will make his first appearance for the Padres on Friday since July 3 when he went up against Trevor Bauer. This time, however, the San Diego power arm will go up against a different D-backs young gun, Tyler Skaggs, in the opener of a weekend set.

Cashner started the season in the Padres' bullpen and posted a 3.81 ERA in 27 games. He later moved into the starting rotation where he had a 2.53 ERA in three starts before the injury.

In his most recent Minor League rehab outing, the 25-year-old allowed three runs on four hits over 56 pitches.

"I'm ready to go," Cashner said. "I got my three rehabilitation outings in and felt good. I worked on some stuff, getting strike one, following it up with strike two, going after hitters early in the count."

On the other side, Skaggs will be looking to continue his hot start to the big league life. In his first three starts with the D-backs, the 21-year-old has allowed just five earned runs over 17 1/3 innings.

He took a no-decision in his last outing, giving up one run on five hits over five runs against the Dodgers.

After attending plenty of games at Dodger Stadium as a kid, pitching in Los Angeles was a big thrill for the rookie, who had family and friends in attendance.

"It was unbelievable," Skaggs said after the game. "Exciting. It's nice to know you have people in the L.A. crowd rooting for you, so it was fun. When I was warming up in the bullpen, I had a lot of friends watching me."

Padres: Volquez's next start pushed back
Pitcher Edinson Volquez will have his scheduled start on Saturday pushed back until Tuesday due to a troublesome blister on his right thumb.

San Diego manager Bud Black said before Wednesday's game that rookies Casey Kelly and Andrew Werner will pitch Saturday and Sunday, respectively, against the D-backs at Petco Park.

Volquez, who has had issues recently with the blister, will have his start pushed back three days when the Padres play host to the Cardinals.

"It's been troubling him over his last few starts, so we felt it was time to let it heal," Black said.

D-backs: Hill close to third cycle
Infielder Aaron Hill was one swing away from history Tuesday night as he needed a triple to record his third cycle of the season.

Hitting for the cycle is an accomplishment in and of itself, but had Hill found a way to triple in one of his final three plate appearances, he would have become the first player in Major League history to hit three cycles in a season.

As it is, Hill's two cycles put him in a very small group. The only other player to hit two cycles in the same season since 1900 was Babe Herman, who accomplished it in 1931.

Hill legged out an infield single, was walked intentionally and singled to left-center in his final three trips to the plate.

"Hopefully I'll get another shot at it," Hill said. "You just go up there and try to find a pitch to hit, and if it happens to be the one that completes a cycle, that's awesome, but if you get any kind of hit, it's awesome."

Worth noting
• The Padres have won six straight games against the D-backs.

• D-backs reliever Brad Ziegler has held opponents scoreless in 14 of his last 16 road games.

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