Fresh off of a series win against NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks kick off a four-game set at Chase Field against Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the second series that the Diamondback have against the Brewers in the past two weeks. In their second-to-last series before the All-Star Break, Arizona took two of three games in Milwaukee.
For Brewers star Prince Fielder, he returns to Phoenix, where he was considered the villain of the All-Star Break because he overlooked Justin Upton for the Home Run Derby. He was booed and heckled, and even had water thrown at him in the procession to the stadium while with his family, but was later cheered after his All-Star homer led the National League to a victory over the American League.
The series will mark the beginning of some changes in the starting rotation, as Zach Duke now is part of the bullpen and Barry Enright will replace him in the starting rotation. A roster move will happen on Tuesday to accommodate this. Enright, who began the season as part of the rotation, struggled before being sent down to AAA, but has since pitched pretty well in a league in which hitting rules.
The schedule and pitching matchups for the series are as follows:
- Monday July 18, 6:40 PM AZT: Josh Collmenter (4-5, 2.92) vs. Randy Wolf (6-6, 3.65)
- Tuesday July 19, 6:40 PM AZT: Barry Enright (1-3, 6.49) vs. Yovani Gallardo (10-6, 4.08)
- Wednesday July 20, 6:40 PM AZT: Joe Saunders (6-8, 3.89) vs. Chris Narveson (6-6, 4.74)
- Thursday July 21, 6:40 PM AZT: Ian Kennedy (10-3, 3.39) vs. Zack Greinke (7-3, 5.04)
All games are televised locally on FSN AZ with the live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.
Series Preview #32: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers - AZ Snake Pit
It was not so very long ago that we Diamondback fans thought of the Milwaukee Brewers as just another National League foe. As a general rule, we regarded them not as hated rivals nor as valued allies, but merely as a pretty good small-market team from the Midwest, not worthy of our consideration outside of the seven or so games per season we played against them. For all I know, some of you have some connection to the Brewers and used to cheer for them whenever they weren't playing the D-Backs.
But that's all in the past now. Ever since Brewers' star Prince Fielder failed to show proper respect to The Justin Upton by spurning him for the Home Run Derby, it has sparked a bitter, hated rivelry that will be renewed on Monday. Already, there have been boos, "We want Upton" chants, and even outright aggression from the same loyal fans who have supported and encouraged Justin Upton by calling him lazy and a punk whenever he stops hitting. And it's all warranted.