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| 4:08 PM PT5:08 PM MT6:08 PM CT7:08 PM ET19:08 ET23:08 GMT7:08 4:08 PM MST6:08 PM EST6:38 PM VEN3:08 UAE (+1)5:08 PM CT, October 3, 2023 American Family Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 40,892 |
Brewers rely on depth in wild-card series vs. improved D-backs
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers
- The Diamondbacks won four of their six games against the Brewers this season. The D-backs were not charged with an error in those six games and their batters struck out only 35 times. The Brewers made seven errors and their batters struck out 59 times.
- The Diamondbacks are in the postseason for the first time since 2017, Torey Lovullo's first season as Arizona manager. They beat Colorado in the NL Wild Card Game that year but were swept by the Dodgers in the Division Series. Ketel Marte and Christian Walker are the only current Diamondbacks who played for Arizona in the 2017 playoffs.
- Rookie Brandon Pfaadt was 3-9 (.250) this season. It is the lowest winning percentage by a pitcher in MLB history to start his team's first postseason game (minimum 12 decisions). The previous low was .391 by Mark Clark (9-14) for the 1998 Cubs and Miles Mikolas (9-14) for the 2019 Cardinals.
- Milwaukee allowed the fewest runs (647) and fewest earned runs (595) in the major leagues this season. It is the first time in franchise history that the Brewers led MLB in either category. Their previous best finish was third in both runs and earned runs in 2021.
- William Contreras had at least one hit in each of his last 18 games this season (24-for-67, .358). It is the longest hitting streak of his career, the longest current hitting streak in MLB at the end of the 2023 season and the longest by a Brewers player this year.
- Corbin Burnes was 1-3 with a 3.24 ERA over his final 12 starts this season. Milwaukee scored 16 runs in the lone win (Sept. 22 at Miami). The Brewers scored a total of 24 runs with Burnes pitching in his 11 other starts over that span (3.2 per nine innings).
The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to ace right-hander Corbin Burnes when the National League Central champions host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday in the opener of the best-of-three wild-card series.
Burnes (10-8, 3.39 ERA) will be opposed by rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (3-9, 5.72 ERA), facing the Brewers for the first time. Arizona (84-78) won four of the six regular-season meetings with Milwaukee (92-70).
The Brewers received devastating news Monday when they learned that right-hander Brandon Woodruff, scheduled to pitch the second game, would miss the entire series with a right shoulder injury, with the remainder of the postseason in doubt.
"We've got good pitching, we've got really good pitching," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Monday. "We feel good about how we're going to get through this series with a lot of guys on the mound. Giving the ball to Corbin on Day 1 is as good a feeling as you can have."
The Diamondbacks, in the postseason for the first time since 2017, finished the regular season with four consecutive losses but secured the final wild card on Saturday when other contenders also lost.
Arizona was 52-39 at the All-Star break and tied with the Dodgers for the NL West lead but finished 16 games behind Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks, who lost 110 games in 2021, are just the third team in major league history to go from a 110-plus loss season to the playoffs within three years.
"It's a first for a lot of people, not just our pitcher, and I think there's just a certain readiness that they'll all have because they've worked hard to get here," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "The team is extremely hungry, they have a lot to prove, they're very connected, and we feel like we're very dangerous."
In getting swept by Houston to end the season, the Diamondbacks scored just two runs and were 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Arizona also used its two top starters, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, against Houston.
Milwaukee, appearing in the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons, was 27-13 over its final 40 games.
Catcher William Contreras brings an 18-game hitting streak into the playoffs. He hit .342 (52-for-152) with five homers, 11 doubles, 24 RBIs, 25 walks and 33 runs over his final 39 games.
Milwaukee improved its offense with the trade deadline acquisitions of Mark Canha and Carlos Santana. Canha's 33 RBIs from Aug. 1 Oct. 1 trailed only Contreras (34) for most on the team. Santana had 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 52 games after being acquired from Pittsburgh.
Outfielder Tyrone Taylor, injured much of the first half, hit .291 (23-for-79) over his final 23 games with five homers, nine doubles and 17 RBIs.
"These guys have done it for a lot of years, so adding them to our lineup, it lengthens it a bit," said outfielder Christian Yelich. "I just feel like we have quality at-bats up and down the lineup and it puts a lot of pressure on people."
Burnes was 1-1 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts in September, including three scoreless starts. In his final two outings, he scattered seven hits over nine scoreless innings.
Burnes struck out 200, the third consecutive season he reached that mark, and walked 66. Opponents are batting .200 against him, but just .183 in September.
Burnes is 2-1 in five career starts vs. Arizona, including 1-1 with 4.85 ERA in two games this season.
Pfaadt was 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in five appearances in September, including four starts. In two of his last three starts, he did not allow a run.
In his last start, he allowed five hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking none in a crucial 3-0 win over the White Sox.
Arizona right fielder Corbin Carroll, the likely NL Rookie of the Year, had 25 homers and 76 RBIs, hitting .285.
--Field Level Media
Updated October 3, 2023
@STATS_Insights
