Chad Patrick, Merrill Kelly Set Diamondbacks Vs Brewers Opener
diamondbacks vs brewers opens Tuesday with Chad Patrick scheduled to face Merrill Kelly in the first game of a three-game series. Milwaukee enters at 14-13 after ending a four-game losing streak with a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh, while Arizona is 15-12 after beating San Diego 12-7.
Patrick And Kelly
Patrick takes the ball for Milwaukee after a rough April 22 outing against Detroit, when he worked four innings, struck out two, and allowed six hits, four earned runs and one walk in a 5-2 loss. Kelly is coming off an even tougher night: he gave up 10 hits, eight earned runs, three home runs and three walks over 4 1/3 innings in Arizona’s 11-5 loss to the White Sox on April 21.
Those lines make the matchup more than a simple series opener. Both starters arrive with losses on their recent resumes, and both clubs have already shown they can score in bunches, with Arizona’s most recent win coming by five runs and Milwaukee’s by five as well.
Brewers Without Yelich
Milwaukee still has to navigate the series without Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn. That leaves more of the run production on Bice Turang, who has a.258 average through 25 games and 93 at-bats, with 18 RBIs, four home runs and 21 walks; his.391 on-base percentage ranks eighth in the National League.
The Brewers also have Jake Bauers and Gary Sánchez tied for the team lead with five home runs, while Garrett Mitchell leads the club with 19 RBIs. With those numbers, Milwaukee’s lineup has enough production to survive the injuries, but not much margin if the rotation hands over early runs.
Arizona’s Carroll Led Lineup
Arizona brings its own set of hitters into the series. Ildemaro Vargas, Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte have combined for 14 home runs, Vargas leads the group with six, and Corbin Carroll tops qualified Diamondbacks hitters in batting average at.287, on-base percentage at.400, slugging percentage at.552 and OPS at.952.
The Diamondbacks have also had to work through a 2-4 stretch over their last six games even while sitting third in the National League West. For Milwaukee, the first game offers a chance to build on Sunday’s shutout; for Arizona, it is a chance to steady a rotation that has already taken damage from Kelly’s last start.
