Brewers vs. Diamondbacks Preview
ARIZONA (AP) – An MVP performance turned Prince Fielder from foe to fan favorite in 24 hours at Chase Field last week.
This time, his role will be undoubtedly certain.
Less than a week after leading the NL to an All-Star game victory, Fielder looks to help the Milwaukee Brewers extend their road dominance of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
According to MLB odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog have made the Diamondbacks -124 money line favorites for Monday’s game against the Reds. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 70% of more than 3,914 bets for this game have been placed on the Diamondbacks -124.
Fielder was booed throughout the Home Run Derby at Chase Field last Monday. The slugger, who got to pick his derby teammates, drew the fans’ ire when he didn’t choose Diamondbacks All-Star Justin Upton to participate.
While Fielder was jeered as he failed to win the long ball exhibition, he earned cheers the following day by hitting a three-run shot in the NL’s 5-1 win in the Midsummer Classic.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I transformed (the fans), but I understood,” Fielder told the team’s official website. “I didn’t take it too personally. I mean, I probably would have booed myself, too, if I was an Arizona fan. That just shows you how much Justin means to them.”
Fielder, who earned MVP honors in the game, should return to his customary role as villain in this four-game series.
He’s hitting .328 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs in 39 games against the Diamondbacks. Fielder went 5 for 11 with a home run and two RBIs as the Brewers (51-45) dropped two of three at home to Arizona from July 4-6.
He has a .320 average during Milwaukee’s six-game winning streak at Arizona, during which the Brewers have outscored the Diamondbacks 46-14.
Milwaukee could get an offensive boost if All-Star Ryan Braun can play despite left hamstring tightness, which forced him to leave an 8-7 win at Colorado on Saturday. Braun was reduced to pinch-hitting duties in a 4-3 win Sunday as the Brewers split the four-game set.
“I’m hoping that with the time off he had before the break, it healed up that area,” manager Ron Roenicke told the team’s official website. “Right now, I’m hoping that we’re just day-to-day. And hopefully it just continues to get better and we don’t get to the point where we need to back him off for a couple weeks.”
Braun is 9 for 26 with three doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and 10 runs in his last six games at Chase Field.
Randy Wolf (6-6, 3.65 ERA) has also enjoyed dominance in the desert, winning his last seven starts in Phoenix with a 3.26 ERA.
The left-hander, though, wasn’t nearly that effective against the Diamondbacks (51-44) at home July 5, surrendering all of Arizona’s runs in the first three innings before exiting after six in a 7-3 home loss.
He followed that up with an improved effort five days later, allowing three runs over seven innings while not getting a decision in a 4-3 win over Cincinnati.
The Diamondbacks are looking to win their third straight at home after beating Los Angeles 4-1 on Sunday.
Upton has gone 0 for 15 over the last four games, but he’s hitting .329 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs at home and has a .294 average with two home runs versus Wolf.
Josh Collmenter (4-5, 2.92) is winless in his last six starts, going 0-4 with a 5.08 ERA over that span.
The rookie right-hander’s latest effort was perhaps his best of that stretch, as he held the Brewers to three hits in six innings and didn’t get a decision in a 3-1 loss July 6.
Collmenter has lost his last two home starts, though he allowed three runs in seven innings of an 8-2 defeat to the Chicago White Sox in the most recent one June 19. Before those two most recent outings at Chase Field, he hadn’t allowed a run in 20 1-3 innings at home while going 3-0 in six games – two starts.
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