Milwaukee @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2011 ) Arizona 4, Milwaukee 9

THE STORY: The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from their first postseason series victory since 1982. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder each have a home run and have combined for nine hits and six RBIs through the first two games of the National League Division Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping a trip home will turn their fortunes. The Diamondbacks will send Josh Collmenter to the mound in Game 3 on Tuesday.

TV: 9:37 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Shaun Marcum (13-7, 3.54 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Josh Collmenter (10-10, 3.38 ERA).

Marcum had one of his worst starts closing out the season, getting torched for seven runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings against light-hitting Pittsburgh. The righthander went 1-2 with a 6.66 ERA in his final four outings. Marcum went six innings against Arizona on July 4, yielding four runs on seven hits in a no decision.

Collmenter finished up the regular season with a win over San Francisco on Sept. 25 and recorded a quality start in seven of his last nine turns. The 25-year old did have some trouble keeping the ball in the yard toward the end, surrendering five homers in his last three games. Collmenter made two starts against Milwaukee, allowing a total of six hits in 14 scoreless innings.

ABOUT THE BREWERS: Fielder’s two-run blast provided the highlight of a 4-1 victory in Game 1 on Saturday and Braun went deep in the first inning of Game 2 to get Milwaukee started. The Brewers got some production from the rest of their lineup in Sunday’s 9-4 triumph, specifically during a five-run rally in the sixth that gave them the lead. Milwaukee was just 39-42 away from Miller Park during the regular season.

ABOUT THE DIAMONDBACKS: Arizona will be attempting to become the first NL team in the wild card era to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series. It has happened four times in the American League, most recently when the Boston Red Sox overtook the Oakland Athletics in 2003. Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson could not get the job done in the first two games but the Diamondbacks went 51-30 at Chase Field this season. They scored 400 runs and hit .262 in the desert, up from 331 and .239 on the road.

FINAL PITCH: Milwaukee came back from 2-0 down in 1982 American League Championship Series, beating the California Angels in five games.