Milwaukee @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) Milwaukee 17, Arizona 3
Alcides Escobar maintained his rookie status for this year by one single at-bat.
The talk in spring training was that the Milwaukee Brewers shortstop was going to make good on that second opportunity and be among the top rookies this season.
After hitting .304 in 125 at-bats in 2009, the franchise saw enough out of Escobar that they traded J.J. Hardy in the off-season to Minnesota to show confidence in its rising star.
Escobar got his shot last season when Hardy’s decline and injuries opened the door, but the 24-year-old Venezuelan has had a rough start to the season.
He hasn’t looked as comfortable in the field or at the plate as he did in his 38-game stint last season. He has three hits in his last 32 at-bats entering today’s series finale with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Overall, he is hitting .234 with a home run and 10 RBIs.
In addition to the hitting woes, he already has as many errors (6) in 49 less chances than in his debut season.
It is clear that he isn’t the same player as his first go-around in the early part of the season, and manager Ken Macha has been patient, but if the Brewers are going to make a push to get above .500 they are going to need their Rookie of The Year candidate to start playing like it.
Assuming he is in the lineup as Milwaukee goes for the sweep today against the Diamondbacks, Escobar will be trying to get out of his slump against arguably Arizona’s best starting pitcher to date in Ian Kennedy (2-1, 3.65 ERA).
The right-hander has been impressive over the last three outings, as his ERA has gone from 5.65 to 3.65 after allowing six earned runs over his last 20 2/3 innings to earn two wins.
Kennedy has had the backing of a potent offense, but the Diamondbacks, who host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday to start a three-game set, have managed only five runs in the first two games of the series against Milwaukee’s top-of-the-rotation starters Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf.
Taking the mound for the Brewers in the series finale is left-hander John Narveson, who started the season in the bullpen but is making his third start since replacing Jeff Suppan as the fifth starter.
In his new role, Narveson is 1-0 with a 4.90 ERA and 2-0 with a 6.00 ERA overall.