Arizona @ Milwaukee preview
Miller Park
Last Meeting ( May 6, 2014 ) Arizona 7, Milwaukee 5
Even as they continue to remain firmly in the National League West basement, the Arizona Diamondbacks have held their own away from home. The Diamondbacks look to win their second straight road series on Wednesday, when they meet the Milwaukee Brewers in the rubber match of their three-game set. At 12-24, Arizona owns the worst record in the NL and finds itself 10 1/2 games out of first place in its division – the largest deficit of any team in the majors.
However, the Diamondbacks improved to 5-2 over their last seven road contests and 9-9 away from home overall after Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 7-5 win over the NL-best Brewers (22-12). As a result, Milwaukee fell to 4-10 in its last 14 games against Arizona and 6-12 in its last 18 home meetings with the Diamondbacks. The defeat also was the Brewers’ fifth in the last seven overall games and marked the first time in 19 tries that they lost when scoring at least four runs.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MLBN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Bronson Arroyo (2-2, 6.03 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (4-1, 2.04)
After going 1-2 with a 7.77 ERA in April, Arroyo appeared to be as healthy as he has been all season in Friday’s 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. The 37-year-old, who suffered a bulging disk in spring training and a virus late last month, allowed three hits and struck out six over seven strong innings. Arroyo has a long history against the Brewers after spending 11 combined seasons in the NL Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, compiling a 15-10 record and 3.67 ERA in 33 career appearances (30 starts).
Peralta was every bit as dominant as Arroyo in his last outing and even supplied all of his team’s offense in Friday’s 2-0 triumph over the Reds. The 11-game winner from a season ago yielded three hits and struck out seven over a season-high eight frames while also driving in the first two runs of his three-year major-league career with a fifth-inning double. Peralta notched Milwaukee’s only win versus the Diamondbacks in 2013 in his first career start against them on July 14, giving up a run on seven hits over seven innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arroyo’s 15 wins against Milwaukee are his most against any opponent.
2. Brewers RHP Brandon Kintzler, who took the loss on Tuesday after giving up Hill’s homer, has surrendered as many blasts in his last two games (two) as he did in 77 innings last season.
3. Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt has posted four straight multi-hit efforts and is 16-for-35 during his eight-game hitting streak.
PREDICTION: Brewers 4, Diamondbacks 2