Juan Uribe matched a career best with his 23rd home run and the first-place Giants increased their NL West lead over the Padres to two games with a 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, according to an Associated Press report.

Tim Lincecum's turn in the rotation is being pushed up a day to Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, making the Giants' ace available for a one-game playoff Monday with San Diego if the NL West title comes to that, according to an ESPN.com report.

Jerry Dipoto was the runner-up to Kevin Towers for the Arizona GM job and it initially appeared as though he would leave the franchise after being passed over. Towers spent four hours with Dipoto recently and came away with highly favorable impressions, reinforcing the positives he'd heard from Diamondbacks executives and baseball people outside of the club. Towers told FanHouse on Saturday that he wants to empower Dipoto as his top baseball executive, making him Vice President of Scouting and Player Development. According to other major league sources, Dipoto is now likely to stay with the Diamondbacks. "He'd be a huge asset," Towers said. "Things went well in our talks. I told him, 'Don't rush into this,' but it's my desire that he stays. I'd like to keep him if I can. I think it's really kind of up to Jerry."

Mark Reynolds, who entered Friday with a .200 average and 206 strikeouts, could become the first player in history with a higher strikeout total than batting average. According to research by Baseball Reference, no everyday player has ever done it. In 106 plate appearances, Minnesota pitcher Dean Chance struck out 63 times with an .054 average in 1968, the highest strikeout total for someone who has accomplished the feat.

Arizona general manager Kevin Towers may want to hire Greg Maddux as a bench coach or pitching coach in 2011, but Jim Hendry is not going to let Maddux leave the organization for the third time. In an interview with USA Today, Towers said: "I told Greg two years ago as soon as you want to be on the field please make me the first call." But Maddux is a special assistant to Hendry, who said Thursday that Maddux is going nowhere. "Greg and I have a really good relationship," he said. "Obviously Greg's intent is to stay with the Cubs in 2011, doing exactly what he's doing now. And I'm sure we'll have some other expansive duties for him. I've had numerous conversations with his since Lou (Piniella) left, including (about) the managerial process."

Kevin Towers hopes Greg Maddux will consider accepting a position with the Diamondbacks as their pitching coach. "I told Greg two years ago as soon as you want to be on the field please make me the first call," Towers said. Maddux is eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. The last Hall of Fame pitcher to be a pitching coach was Ferguson Jenkins for the Cubs in 1996.

Kevin Towers will be named the next GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks, baseball sources said Tuesday night. Towers, 48, replaces Jerry Dipoto, who held the position on an interim basis after taking over for Josh Byrnes in July. The Diamondbacks considered five candidates for the position: Towers, Dipoto, Angels scouting director Eddie Bane and Dodgers assistant general managers Logan White and De Jon Watson. Towers' contract is for two seasons with option years thereafter.

The Diamondbacks will name either Kevin Towers or Jerry DiPoto as their general manager within the next several days, multiple major league sources have told FOXSports.com. Ownership's said to be torn between their loyalty to DiPoto, an executive with the team since 2006, and the appeal of Towers, who reached the postseason four times in 14 seasons as GM of the San Diego Padres. Diamondbacks officials have spoken with Towers within the last 48 hours, one source said.

Kevin Towers will interview with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday for their vacant general manager position, according to FanHouse. Towers is considered the front-runner to replace interim GM Jerry DiPoto, who remains a candidate. A person close to Towers, who was GM of the Padres from late 1995 until 2009, told FanHouse that money likely will not be a deal-breaker.

The Diamondbacks have narrowed their search for a new general manager to five candidates -- interim general manager Jerry Dipoto, former Padres GM Kevin Towers, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White, Dodgers assistant general manager of player development De Jon Watson and Angels director of scouting Eddie Bane. Arizona has interviews scheduled with the candidates for this week. The Diamondbacks were interested in interviewing Yankees vice president of scouting Damon Oppenheimer but were denied permission by New York. "We would like to have a decision by the end of the season," team president and CEO Derrick Hall said when asked about the search. "We're not going to have any comment until it's completed."