Gallardo, Brew Crew Top D-backs In Pitcher's Duel

Josh Collmenter was rolling along through six innings, having allowed only three hits and leading by a run. 

He appeared on his way to ending his four-start losing streak. That was, until the seventh inning, when Collmenter was lifted for the normally more reliable Joe Paterson, who was lifted for the normally more reliable Sam Demel.

Patterson gave up two hits in 1/3 of an inning, and Demel gave up the game's biggest hit, a three-run bomb to pinch hitter Casey McGehee that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 3-1 win over the D-backs Wednesday afternoon at Miller Park.

The Brewers, one of baseball's best teams at home, avoided a home sweep. The D-backs (47-41) missed out on a chance to move to a half-game behind San Francisco in the NL West for first place, and are 1 1/2 games out with the Giants playing tonight. 

The Diamondbacks thought they had Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo figured out early, especially after Kelly Johnson drove a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left-center field for a solo home run to lead off the game.

It was Johnson's 15th homer of the season, but the D-backs would score no more. Gallardo (10-5) struck out six over seven innings and allowed just four hits, and the Milwaukee bullpen finished the job.

Arizona had a chance to add to the lead in the seventh, but Miguel Montero got thrown out by left fielder Mark Kotsay trying to make it to third base on a soft single from Sean Burroughs. Montero had doubled with one out. 

The Brewers never got a runner past second base until the seventh. Then singles by Kotsay and Jonathan Lucroy with one out set the stage for McGehee. 

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Upton, Duke Help D-backs Top Brewers, 7-3

Zach duke broke out of his recent slump, going seven innings while allowing two earned runs and only five hits, and the Arizona Diamondbacks ensured a series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and stayed within striking distance of the San Francisco Giants.

The D-backs relievers made things a little interesting in the eighth and ninth innings, however. With a six-run lead, Aaron Heilman and new call-up Alberto Castillo were hit three times, including a solo home run by Corey Hart in the bottom of the eighth. Castillo was relieved by David Hernandez in the bottom of the ninth and he quickly put the drama to rest.

Brewers starter Randy Wolf lasted six innings, but was scored on seven times, including a homer from Justin Upton — freshly snubbed from the Home Run Derby, and by Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder, no less – and a two-run yarder from Gerardo Parra.

The win was only Duke’s second in 12 starts this season, though his seven innings was his longest stint since June 8.

Arizona Diamondbacks Overcome Errors and Brewers To Steal Win, 8-6

It wasn't the prettiest game of baseball you are going to see this year. In fact, the Arizona Diamondbacks had no business winning this game at all after a series of mistakes put them in a deep hole that they were able to somehow climb out of. Down 6-1 after four innings, the D-backs put up eight runs over the next five innings by scoring one or two runs in each of the final frames.

Daniel Hudson started off just fine with the first run allowed on a Juan Miranda error in the third inning. Hudson followed that in the fourth inning by hanging a bases loaded, two-out slider to Brewers pitcher Shaun Marcom who hit his career-first home run and the first grand slam of the Brewers season.

The real star of the game was the Diamondbacks bullpen who put up four scoreless innings that allowed the offense to do some work.

In the eighth inning the D-backs had both Miguel Montero and Miranda thrown out at third base. Montero had no business trying to go first to third off a Sean Burroughs singles to left field. He was out by a mile. Miranda was trying to take an extra base on the throw after hitting an RBI double but was out on a close play. Burroughs had a nice three-hit, one RBI game in the start and Wily Mo Pena his a pinch-hit solo home run that's probably still airborne.

In the end, it didn't matter. The Brewers had three errors of their own and their bullpen was a disaster. In the end, it's a win the D-backs needed after a couple of miserable series. The bullpen picked up the starter and the bats covered up for the defense and base running mistakes.

For more on this game, visit AZ Snake Pit.

Arizona Diamondbacks Head North To Meet Some Brewers

The Arizona Diamondbacks left Oakland the losers of the series with the A's and with Ian Kennedy suffering both an All-Star snub and one of the worst outings of his young career. Are the two connected? You decide. Daniel Hudson will try and pick up his mates as the D-backs go cross country from the Bay Area of Northern California to the beer capital of America, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The Brewers, as evidenced by having three starters on the NL All-Star team, are playing great baseball this year. They hold the exact same record as the D-backs, 45-40, and are coming off a 1-5 road trip. The Brewers are horrible on the road actually (16-29) which should come in handy when they come back to Phoenix in two weeks. For now, the D-backs will have their hands full as they look to bust out of a 2-6 slump of their own.

Two pretty good teams playing poorly of late. Something has to give and looking at these pitching match-ups, it doesn't look good for the visiting team.

• Monday (1:10 p.m.) : Daniel Hudson (9-5, 3.49) vs. Shawn Marcum (7-3, 3.16)
• Tuesday (5:10 p.m.) : Zach Duke (1-3, 5.92) vs. Randy Wolf (6-5, 3.33)
• Wednesday (11:10 p.m.) : Josh Collmenter (4-5, 3.17) vs. Yovani Gallardo (9-5, 3.92)

The Monday and Tuesday games will be on Fox Sports Arizona while the Wednesday game is not on TV. All games will have a popping live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.

Series Preview #29: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers - AZ Snake Pit
Following a disappointing series against the Athletics, the Diamondbacks continue their sprint disagreeable limp toward the All Star Break as they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers.  After a slow start to the season, the Brewers have emerged as a strong contender in the NL Central, as they enter the series tied for first in the division.  The Brewers are 45-40, tied with the D-Backs, and since they probably aren't going away anytime soon, this series may have important Wild Card implications for both teams.