Series Six Pack: Diamondbacks face Brewers

Tonight the Milwaukee Brewers (1-2) will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (2-1) in Miller Park. The Brewers, who are coming off of two straight losses to the Colorado Rockies, will look to rebound in this series. For the Diamondbacks, their last game was a 16 inning affair which resulted in an Arizona victory.

Let’s get into it.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks look poised to finish within the top three of the NL West. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

In 2012, the Diamondbacks ended up 81-81 in the NL West, just barely missing the playoffs, much like the Brewers. A lot of credit goes to manager Kirk Gibson, who since his arrival in 2011, turned the team completely around. While starting pitching wasn’t certainly a huge problem, what performed even better for the Diamondbacks was their bullpen, which has pretty much remained in tact except with the addition of Heath Bell. The addition of Brandon McCarthy will help bolster the rotation alongside Wade Miley and Ian Kennedy.

Offensively, Arizona traded away Justin Upton, but got Martin Prado in return. The additions Eric Chavez and Cliff Pennington give the team more infield help. Jason Kubel and Gerardo Parra will look to help carry the Upton-less outfield in 2013. Behind the plate, catcher Miguel Montero looks to have another great offensive season along with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Braun will look to do some damage against the Diamondbacks this weekend. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

After being up early in the series to Colorado, the Brewers somehow managed to lose the the remaining two games of the series. Pitching wise, the starters had a rough go of things and the bullpen tried to limit the damage. Aside from hiccups from John Axford and Mike Gonzalez, the Brewers’ bullpen has been solid so far with the likes of Burke Badenhop and Alfredo Figaro shutting down the opposition.

Rickie Weeks has been off to a good start, hitting .545 with one home run and one RBI. For the three and four hitters, namely Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez, they too have been productive with the bat, hitting .400 and .364 respectively. The team has also seen the major league debut of outfielder Khristopher Davis, who has only had two at-bats so far and no hits.

The Match-Ups:

Arizona’s pitchers will be listed first followed by Milwaukee’s:

Tonight: Wade Miley (0-0, 0.00 ERA)  vs Kyle Lohse (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at 8:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. CT

Saturday: Patrick Corbin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Mike Fiers (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at 7:10 p.m. ET / 6:10 p.m. CT

Sunday: Ian Kennedy (1-0, 2.57 ERA) vs Yovani Gallardo (0-0, 5.40 ERA) at  2:10 p.m. ET / 1:10 p.m. CT

As always, good luck to the Diamondbacks, but go Brewers!