Arizona @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 9, 2010 ) Arizona 7, Milwaukee 4
Barry Enright has been impressive since joining the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation at the end of June.
His emergence has served as a beacon of hope for the last-place Diamondbacks, who have undergone a massive overhaul in the wake of a disastrous season.
Enright takes the hill on Tuesday looking to continue his string of solid starts as Arizona continues a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Diamondbacks fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes prior to the All-Star break, and since then the team has retooled its roster with a slew of trades.
Two of the more high-profile deals included sending pitchers Daren Haren to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox. The Diamondbacks may have traded Jackson in part because of what they’ve seen from Enright (3-2, 2.81 ERA).
The 24-year-old right-hander has not allowed more than three runs in any of his seven starts since making his debut on June 30. He was called up from Double-A that day to start for Jackson, who needed more rest after throwing 149 pitches in his no-hitter.
The move has paid off handsomely.
On Thursday, Enright allowed two runs and six hits in six innings as Arizona recorded an 8-4 win over the Washington Nationals.
Enright's record doesn't reflect how good he's been. Due to a lack of run support, the rookie has just two wins over his last four starts, despite a 2.42 ERA over that stretch.
The Diamondbacks had no problems scoring Monday, however. Stephen Drew had a two-run single and Ryan Church added a pinch-hit RBI single en route to a 7-4 triumph in 10 innings over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Arizona snapped a seven-game losing streak to Milwaukee by rallying against Trevor Hoffman.
Hoffman, who is three saves shy of 600, has worked his way back into a part-time closer's role. He is sharing the duties with John Axford, who blew his second save in 18 chances on Monday.
Manager Ken Macha has said he will start to utilize Hoffman more often to get him to the milestone. The odds for a save opportunity are pretty good when Manny Parra (3-9, 5.67 ERA) faces the Diamondbacks. The left-hander is 1-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts against Arizona.
Parra hopes that success translates into his first win since July 3. He is 0-4 with an 8.56 ERA in his last five starts.
Milwaukee has had to shuffle its lineup the last two days due to injuries. Corey Hart missed Monday’s opener with a back injury and Ryan Braun left the contest with a wrist injury. Both are day-to-day.
The Brewers are trying to avoid losing back-to-back games against Arizona for the first time since May of 2009.