For the last year and a half, Peavy has watched and learned from one of his boyhood idols. After the Padres traded Maddux to the Dodgers on Tuesday, Peavy expressed deep thankfulness for all that he learned from Maddux in his time with the Padres.

"He was awesome," Peavy said. "There's too much to put my hand on one specific thing that I learned. He was a student of the game. He knows so much about all aspects of the game of baseball. I think we all took bits and pieces almost daily from Greg, just watching him and listening to him."

Peavy called Maddux just as much of a pitching coach for the Padres as manager Bud Black, a former pitching coach for the Angels, and actual Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley.

"He's been in the game as long as those guys have, it seems like," Peavy said. "You can't have a better coach than somebody who does exactly what you do and can relate to you in that regard.

"He was under a great manager in Bobby Cox [in Atlanta] for years. He's watched and learned so much about the game. He's just like another coach, absolutely."

Peavy, who is second in the National League with a 2.61 ERA will look to put himself first in that category Wednesday night at Chase Field, when he goes against D-backs co-ace Dan Haren, in what should be a low-scoring affair.

Throughout his career, Peavy has struggled in Phoenix, going 4-6 with a 5.54 ERA in 12 career starts. Peavy picked up the win in his last start at Chase on July 5, but had gone a season and a half without a win at Chase, dating back to Sept. 28, 2006.

Pitching matchup
SD: RHP Jake Peavy (9-8, 2.61 ERA)
Peavy was dominant in his last start against the Brewers at home. Peavy threw six innings of shutout ball before giving up one run in the seventh. The Brewers managed only four hits off the ace, who picked up only his fourth win in his last 10 starts even though his ERA is 2.32 over that span. Peavy has a 1.42 ERA at home this season compared to 4.14 on the road. The last time he gave up more than two runs at home was June 29 against Seattle.

ARI: RHP Dan Haren (13-6, 2.96 ERA)
Haren was his old self in his last start against the Rockies on Thursday. The right-hander got better as the game went along and wound up allowing just two runs on seven hits over eight innings. The outing came on the heels of back-to-back starts in which he allowed a combined 10 earned runs. Haren recently signed a four-year, $44.75 million extension.

Tidbits
To fill the roster spot left open by Maddux, the Padres activated pitcher Brett Tomko from the 15-day disabled list. Tomko appeared in relief Tuesday in his third game of the season for the Padres, allowing an intentional walk in 1 2/3 innings ... Black said right-hander Chris Young played catch Tuesday for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained right forearm Thursday. Black said he definitely expects Young to pitch again this season. ... Nick Hundley was back at catcher for the Padres on Tuesday. Hundley was a late scratch from Sunday's lineup with a sprained left ankle. Hundley, a former University of Arizona catcher, said he gave out at least 12 tickets to Tuesday's game to friends and coaches from school.

Tickets
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On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• 4SD/704-HD

On radio
• XPRS 1090/105.7 FM , XEMO 860 (Español)

Up next
• Thursday: Padres (Chad Reineke, 1-0, 5.40) at Diamondbacks (Brandon Webb, 18-4, 2.85), 6:40 p.m. PT
• Friday: Padres (TBD) at Giants (Tim Lincecum, 13-3, 2.60), 7:15 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Padres (TBD) at Giants (Barry Zito, 7-15, 5.43), 1:05 p.m. PT