Las Vegas' Terry Tiffee hit .486 in April, .345 in May and is just under .340 in June. He is hitting .398 overall after Tuesday night's game.

DAVID SANDERS / arizona daily star

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Jamie D'Antona has yet to formally meet Terry Tiffee, but no introduction is needed.

Their paths have crossed only on the baseball field. When one advances to third base, where the other plays defense, they might share a brief conversation.

Both are vying for the Pacific Coast League's batting title and an even more elusive shot at hitting .400. The last PCL player to bat over .400 was Mission's Oscar Eckhardt, who hit .414 in 1933.

D'Antona, the Tucson Sidewinders third baseman, ranks second in the PCL with a .388 average. Tiffee, the Las Vegas 51s third baseman, tops the league at .398. Their teams met this week for a four-game series; Las Vegas avoided the sweep by winning 11-3 on Tuesday.

They hail from different backgrounds, but both hope their consistent seasons yield something greater. D'Antona, a 26-year-old right-hander from Greenwich, Conn., comes up to bat to a Randy Rogers Band song every game and laces doubles to every field.

Tiffee, a 29-year-old switch-hitter from Little Rock, Ark., has more doubles (28) than strikeouts (26). Unlike D'Antona, Tiffee has played in the majors – 97 games total, including 54 in 2005 with the Minnesota Twins, who drafted him in the 26th round in 1999.

"I'll tell him if he hits the ball well, if he's running by me, 'Nice hit' or 'Way to swing it,'" Tiffee said. "I do that to most players anyway."

The two are also tied for second in the league in doubles.

"I hope one of us (hits .400) because it hasn't been done for a long time," said D'Antona, who sat out Tuesday to rest. "I'm more pulling for myself, but if he does it, more power to him."

D'Antona, a Diamondbacks' second-round draft pick in 2003, produced his highest average over a whole season, .310, for Double-A in 2006. He hit .308 last season with Tucson.

"The biggest difference is how he's hit against right-handers compared to left-handers," Tucson manager Bill Plummer said. "The last couple years since I had him he was .380 against lefties and under .300 against righties."

Tiffee has likewise made minor adjustments, such as crouching more in his stance and limiting his head movement. He has hit .226 in the majors and last appeared in the big leagues June 5, after the Dodgers promoted him to replace the injured Andruw Jones. He went 1 for 4 in six games.

Las Vegas hitting coach John Moses, a former Arizona Wildcat and major leaguer from 1982-92, said he hasn't had to instruct Tiffee much.

"I've never seen a guy square a ball up for two straight months during a season like he has," Moses said.

Moses, a former Mariner, even uttered the name Ichiro Suzuki.

"They're two totally different hitters, but the consistency as far as swings go…" Moses said. "If he was to take that same swing to the major leagues I think he would have tremendous success because he never gets out of his swing."

D'Antona went 4 for 10 in the series. Tiffee was 4 for 16.

● Plummer was ejected in the sixth after arguing with first base umpire Eric Loveless about a close play. He was also ejected Sunday.

● Max Scherzer, on the DL since June 18 for shoulder inflammation, said he will begin throwing today or Thursday. "I don't know what they want me to do, how many pens they want me to throw, but my arm feels fresh again so that's a great thing and hopefully I can get into a game soon," he said.

● Billy Buckner, in his first home start since the D-backs optioned him, allowed seven runs and 12 hits in four innings.

"They hit some good pitches, hit some bad pitches," Plummer said. "He shows his emotions on the mound sometimes a little too much. His body language at times isn't what you want it to be."

● Outfielder Alex Romero reported to Tucson on Tuesday.