Kennedy wins 20th

Ian Kennedy struck out 12 batters in eight shutout innings to pick up his 20th win of the season tonight at Chase Field as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged closer to the NL West title with a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And by the way, Justin Upton provided the game-winner in the sixth inning with a broken-bat home run over the left field fence. The Pirates had just two hits in the game -- a single in the third inning off Kennedy's counterpart, Jeff Karstens, and a triple in the top of the ninth inning by Alex Presley. Arizona closer J.J. Putz picked up the save and Presley was left stranded at third base. The magic number is down to four as the idle San Francisco Giants open a three-game series tomorrow in Los Angeles with the Dodgers.