On paper, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers are similar teams. They also share small market challenges (although the Brewers payroll is $32m higher) and both teams have an aggressive mentality and approach to the game.
Despite the similarities, there are of course differences that come up as we put together these quick stats and key facts from both teams.
Hitting
- During the regular season the Milwaukee Brewers hit for an average of .261 which ranked 8th in Major League Baseball. The Diamondbacks hit for an average of .250 which ranked 19th in Major League Baseball.
- The Brewers hit 185 home runs as a team and the Diamondbacks hit 172 as a team.
- The Brewers had a team on base percentage of .325, and the Diamondbacks had an on base percentage of .322.
- Ryan Braun led the Brewers in hitting with an average of .332.
- Prince Fielder led the Brewers in home runs (38) and RBI's (120).
- Braun finished second in both categories with 33 home runs and 111 RBI's.
The Diamondbacks have less impressive offensive statistics.
- Gerardo Parra leads the Diamondbacks in average with .292.
- Justin Upton leads the team in every other major offensive category.
- Upton finished with: 31 home runs, 88 RBI's, and 105 runs scored.
- Overall the Diamondbacks have less firepower than the Brewers.
- While the Brewers have two players that have over 30 home runs. The Diamondbacks only have Upton.
- Chris Young is second on the team with 20 home runs.
- The Diamondbacks proved to be the more aggressive team on the base paths. The D-backs stole 133 bases while the Brewers stole 94. Arizona stole more bases than the Brewers attempted to steal.
Pitching
- The Brewers had a team ERA of 3.63 which was good for 7th in Major League Baseball.
- The Diamondbacks had a team ERA of 3.80 good for 9th in Major League Baseball.
- The Diamondbacks are lead by Cy Young candidate Ian Kennedy. Kennedy finished with 21 wins (tied for most in NL) and was top ten in ERA.
- Starters Daniel Hudson and Josh Collmenter both finished with ERA's under 3.50.
- J.J. Putz held down the much improved D-backs bullpen; converting 45 of 49 saves.
- David Hernandez finished with a 3.38 ERA as the setup man, he struck out 77 in 69.1 innings pitched and converted 11 of 14 saves.
- The Brewers were lead ace Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo lead the Brewers in wins (17), ERA (3.52), and strikeouts (207).
- Zach Greinke was second in wins with 16 and hat 201 strikeouts in 171.2 innings pitched.
- Shawn Marcum finished tied for third on the team in wins (13), he finished second in ERA (3.54), and Marcum lead the team in WHIP (1.16).
- John Axford converted 46 of 48 saves and finished with 1.95 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 73.2 IP.
- Fransisco Rodriguez is the setup man, he finished with a 2.64 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.
- The Brewers and the Diamondbacks are almost identical when it comes to pitching. Both finished in the top ten in team ERA, both teams elite closers and solid bulpens.
Head to Head
- The Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks played seven games this season. The Diamondbacks won 2 of 3 in Milwaukee and the teams split 2-2 in Arizona.
- Miguel Montero went 8-20 against the Brewers with 6 RBI's. Gerardo Parra went 7-21 with 3 RBI's, and Chris Young struggled against the Brewers going 5-25 with only 1 RBI.
- Three of the four starting pitchers for the Diamondbacks have quality numbers against the Brewers this season.
- Ian Kennedy had one start and threw 7 shutout innings striking out 5. Joe Saunders started once; he threw 7 innings gave up 2 ER and 5 hits. Josh Collmenter started twice against the Brewers. He pitched 14 innings, not allowing a run and striking out 10.
- The only starter for the Diamondbacks the struggled against the Brewers was Daniel Hudson. Hudson had one start and threw 4 innings and gave up 5 ER and 8 hits.
- Ryan Braun played in only 3 of the 7 meetings this season. Braun went 5-12 with 4 RBI's.
- Fielder struggled against the D-Backs. Fielder went 6-27 with only 2 RBI's. The
- Diamondbacks hit Randy Wolf very hard. Wolf pitched 13.1 innings, he gave up 18 hits and 9 ER. Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo started 2 of the 7 games. He pitched 13 innings giving up 8 hits and 2 ER.
One big advantage for the D-backs in this series is defense. Arizona is a top-ten defensive club by most available measures while the Brewers are bottom third. In a close series, defense could be the difference.
For more advanced statistical look at this series, check out these links:
- Tale of the Tape: Diamondbacks vs. Brewers - AZ Snake Pit Saturday sees the start of the National League Division series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers. It looks set to be a intriguing series, already described by one neutral as having "the makings of the most competitive first-round matchup." Arizona won the regular-season series 4-3, but last faced Milwaukee on July 21. Since then, the Brewers have been the hottest team in baseball, going 43-19. However, the D-backs are not far behind, with a 41-22 record. Let's take a look at each position and see how the teams stack up.
- 2011 MLB Playoff NLDS Preview: Diamondbacks vs. Brewers - Beyond the Box Score Both teams are capable of getting men on base (league-average OBP), and then driving them home with some significant power (+6/7% slugging, +14% and +21% HR/FB ratios). The issue in this series will be the run prevention, particularly how Arizona handles the Brewers offense on the road.