Miley goes for 3rd straight win vs. Mets

Daniel Hudson is injured, but Wade Miley is doing much more than just pick up the slack for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Miley looks to win a third consecutive start in place of Hudson as the visiting Diamondbacks open this three-game series against the slumping New York Mets on Friday night. Hudson won 16 games last year and posted a 3.15 ERA after the All-Star break while helping Arizona (13-13) win its second NL West title in five years. Losing the emerging star to a right shoulder injury after just three starts in 2012 was cause for concern, but Miley (3-0, 1.29 ERA) has stepped up in his absence. The left-hander has won both starts since, yielding one unearned run and three hits with 13 strikeouts and three walks in 12 1-3 innings. His three previous outings came in relief. Miley tossed another gem Sunday, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth before exiting with one out in the seventh after allowing that unearned run and one hit in an 8-4 win at Miami. "Everything was working out for me," said Miley, who was named the NL rookie of the month Wednesday. "Any time you go out and establish the strike zone, you are going to have success. There's nothing like working fast and being able to throw strikes." Miley won three starts in a row Aug. 24-Sept. 5, and will try to match that feat in his first meeting with the Mets (13-12). The Diamondbacks could use another strong performance from Miley after dropping back-to-back one-run contests following a 2-1 defeat at Washington on Thursday. "I think we played pretty good baseball," manager Kirk Gibson said. "Sometimes you come out ahead, and sometimes you don't. The guys played good, they played hard. We feel good about ourselves and we'll come back (Friday)." Arizona split six meetings with New York last season, getting swept in a three-game set at Citi Field from April 22-24. The Mets are returning to Flushing for this series before opening a six-game road trip Monday in Philadelphia. They're 8-5 at home after sweeping a three-game set from Miami last week. They'd won five of six overall after taking two of three in Colorado, but matched their longest slide of the season after being swept out of Houston with Wednesday's 8-1 loss. "(We have) way too many inconsistencies right now," third baseman David Wright told the team's official website. "It seems like we play great for a series and then poorly for a series. And we're going to have to straighten that out." Dillon Gee (2-2, 4.85) takes the mound looking to do just that. The right-hander has alternated wins and losses through his first four starts, getting credit for Saturday's 7-5 win at Colorado. He allowed four runs and seven hits with a season-high seven strikeouts. Gee won his only home start against Arizona on April 23, 2011, yielding four runs - two earned - in six innings of the 6-4 victory. Wright, meanwhile, is among baseball's leaders with a .392 average. He's 9 for 18 in the past five games and has hit safely in nine straight after opening the season with a 10-game hitting streak. He should feel confident about being able to match that Friday considering he's 9 for 22 (.409) with four homers and 11 RBIs in his last six home meetings with the Diamondbacks.