Milwaukee @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 1, 2010 ) Arizona 12, Milwaukee 3

Someone is going to feel the brunt of it.

Whether it is the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend or Atlanta next week, it is going to happen soon. Make no mistake about it, Prince Fielder is going to come out of his season-long slump.

And most likely in a big way.

The Brewers’ slugging first baseman is hitting .245 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in and 102 at-bats spanning the first 27 games.

It is not exactly what Milwaukee has come to expect from their first baseman, who became the youngest player in the game’s history to hit 50 home runs in 2007 and who drove in a team-record 141 runs last season.

So Fielder comes to Chase Field for the start of three-game set starting today against the Diamondbacks with an IOU for a hot streak that will put him back on course with his seasonal numbers.

Does the left-handed basher cash it in and start pounding the ball all over the yard against Arizona? It’s tough to tell, but Fielder will get his first shot against right-hander Edwin Jackson, as good of a candidate as any based on recent outings.

Jackson (1-3) has given up 18 earned runs in his last two outings to push his overall ERA to 8.07.

Regardless of how Fielder does against Jackson and the rest of the Diamondbacks’ staff, it promises to be a high-scoring series.

The Diamondbacks and Brewers rank first and second in the National League in runs scored with 162 and 153, respectively.

While Fielder might be off to a ragged start, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee are leading the way. It’s expected of Braun, but McGehee, who entered Thursday action hitting .299 with five home runs and 23 RBIs, is producing at a better clip than expected.

The Brewers will trot out ace Yovani Gallardo (3-2, 3.00) to try and hope he can be a snake charmer against the Diamondbacks’ potent lineup.
Gallardo has won his last three starts in dominant fashion with 25 strikeouts in 18 innings.

The Diamondbacks are sitting one game under .500 (14-15) despite having one of the worst bullpens in the game. The relief corps lost several late leads but has pitched well of late.

It makes this a rather important weekend for the Diamondbacks, who are coming off a 6-5 road trip and could feel recharged if they can get above .500 after such a horrid stretch by the bullpen.