The Arizona Diamondbacks seek a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and increase their lead in the competitive NL West when the teams meet in the series finale at Chase Field on Wednesday.

Arizona (26-19) has won seven of its last nine games to move seven games over .500 for the first time since June 1. A year ago, the Diamondbacks were 27-18 through 45 games, but went just 50-67 the rest of the way to finish second in the division, five games back of San Diego.

‘’We were kind of hit and miss last year, and a lot of times those things go in cycles, but we feel like this year we can reduce the (cold) streaks and the tougher times,'’ Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.

Arizona has a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and just 2 1/2 games separate all five teams in the division.

Perhaps most impressive during the Diamondbacks’ run has been their offense, which has scored 63 runs and hit .308 in its last nine games to up its average to an NL-best .278.

Conor Jackson continued his solid rookie season by going 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and Johnny Estrada hit a two-run shot in a 7-3 win over the Pirates on Tuesday as the Diamondbacks improved to 6-2 on their nine-game homestand.

‘’For a team that doesn’t hit too many homers, we had two big homers tonight,'’ Melvin said, ‘’two very big homers.'’

Right-hander Miguel Batista (3-2, 4.78 ERA) gets the start and looks to beat a Pirates team that owns the second-worst record in the NL behind Florida.

A year after collecting a career-high 31 saves for Toronto, Batista has had mixed results as a starter in his second stint with the Diamondbacks. From 2001-03, he went 29-26 with a 3.76 ERA with Arizona in 120 games including 76 starts.

Batista, who began his career with Pittsburgh in 1992, is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his last three outings and has walked nine in 18 2-3 innings, including a season-high five in a 7-6 win over St. Louis on May 14.

He is 2-5 with a 5.00 ERA lifetime versus the Pirates, including allowing three runs in seven innings of a 3-0 loss on May 9.

Jason Bay went 3-for-4 with two homers in the loss Tuesday as the Pirates (14-32) dropped to 1-4 on their six-game road trip.

‘’One guy’s not enough to carry a team a lot of times,'’ said Bay, who’s hitting .417 (10-for-24) with six homers and 11 RBIs in his last six games. ‘’I've been doing a lot better lately, but we’re still not winning.'’

Neither is Wednesday starter Zach Duke (2-5, 4.19), who has struggled after a sparkling rookie season in which when he went 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA.

Since tossing his first major league shutout against the Chicago Cubs on May 2, Duke has lost three in a row with a 5.68 ERA, allowing 12 runs and 20 hits and 10 walks in 19 innings.

He pitched well in his last start, allowing three runs in seven innings of a 4-1 loss to Cleveland on Friday, but walked a career-high six.

Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks agreed to a $19.5 million, four-year deal on Friday, locking up the sinkerball specialist through his arbitration years.

The 26-year-old right-hander set a career high with 14 wins last season, his third in the big leagues. He finished 14-12 with a 3.54 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 229 innings.

“Brandon has certainly earned this contract,” Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes said. “His three years thus far have been tremendous. He’s really one of the more unheralded elite pitchers in baseball.”

The deal includes an $8.5 million club option for 2010 with a $500,000 buyout. The buyout would increase by $500,000 each time Webb finishes in the top five of the NL Cy Young voting during the first four years of the contract.

Webb, who earned $715,000 last season, gets $2.5 million this year, $4.5 million in 2007, $5.5 million in 2008 and $6.5 million in 2009. Under his old contract, Webb would have made $2.5 million this year, and the Diamondbacks had an option for 2007.

In line to be Arizona’s opening day starter next season, Webb has a 31-37 career record with a solid 3.35 ERA. He welcomed the chance to be the No. 1 guy on manager Bob Melvin’s staff.

“I’ve worked with the pitching staff and the coaching staff and really honed in on what kind of pitcher I am,” Webb said. “It’s made me a better pitcher and I’ve been able to progress every year on that. Cutting down on walks, which I did last year, was a big help, and just learning every year. I just feel I can progress every year and get better.”

Webb was an eighth-round selection in the 2000 draft out of the University of Kentucky and quickly advanced through the minors. As a rookie in 2003, he went 10-9 with a 2.84 ERA. In 2003, when the Diamondbacks lost 111 games, Webb was 7-16 with a 3.59 ERA and led the National League in walks.

Webb relies on groundball outs, and with an awful defense that season, he admittedly worked too hard to throw strikes. Last year, with a vastly improved defense, he lowered his walks to 59. He expects the defense to be even better with the addition of Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson.

“This is the type of contract a club doesn’t have to do,” Byrnes said. “We had Brandon under control through arbitration for four more years, but it is something we wanted to do.”

Byrnes, hired last October, said it’s important to get long-term deals in place for a team’s core players to give them security and the club some cost certainty.

“It really helps accelerate the decision-making process and the building process,” Byrnes said.

Melvin said there is no doubt that Webb will be the staff’s No. 1 starter and, as long as he’s healthy, will take the mound in the season opener April 3 at Colorado.

“We’re proud of what he’s done and we’re proud of where he’s going,” Melvin said. “To lock up a guy like this, not only a great pitcher and an outstanding individual, we’re elated.”

Webb said that while he welcomes the No. 1 role, he won’t dwell on it.

“I recognize it, but thinking about it just adds pressure to me that I don’t need,” he said. “But I think I’m up to the challenge.”

Notes: The Diamondbacks and reliever Luis Vizcaino also agreed to a $1,775,000, one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The 31-year-old right-hander was acquired in the trade that sent starter Javier Vazquez to the Chicago White Sox. Vizcaino was 6-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 70 innings with the White Sox last year. He has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons, going 21-17 with a 4.36 ERA.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping to attract new fans this summer with a new program available throughout the entire upper deck at Chase Field.

Fans who buy two 2006 season tickets anywhere in the upper deck, will receive two season tickets free.

The team says it will assure fans that all four seats would be together, so that it will be easier for families of four to attend games, says Diamondbacks Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Derrick M. Hall.

Listen to Diamondbacks Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Derrick M. Hall talk about the offer.

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