MILWAUKEE (AP)—When it comes to star power, even the Arizona Diamondbacks
acknowledge they’re no match for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Milwaukee has a pair of MVP candidates in Ryan Braun(notes) and Prince Fielder(notes), and
pulled the surprise of the offseason when they traded for standout starter Zack
Greinke(notes).

The Diamondbacks’ biggest star is Justin Upton(notes)—and even he feels as if he
and his teammates get lost in the shuffle.

“We’re just a bunch of guys nobody ever heard about,” Upton said. “In
Arizona, still, nobody’s heard about us.”

The Diamondbacks might not have the Brewers’ marquee names. But the numbers,
and the results, show two teams that are surprisingly similar going into
Saturday’s Game 1 of the NL division series.

Milwaukee’s Casey McGehee(notes) calls the Diamondbacks “the NL West version of
ourselves, kind of.”

And if fans don’t know the Diamondbacks’ players, Braun says they will soon
enough.

“It’s not like they don’t have talent,” Braun said. “Justin Upton was an
MVP candidate all year. You look at the top of their rotation, Ian Kennedy(notes) is
going to be in the Cy Young discussion. So it’s no doubt they have plenty of
talent and I think they’re playing great baseball. It’s not easy.”

Arizona and Milwaukee both can trace much of their success to improved
starting pitching. Both have deep bullpens that don’t blow leads. And while the
Brewers are known for their two big home run hitters, the Diamondbacks can hit
for power, too.

“I feel like we’re very similar teams,” said Kennedy, who will start Game
1. “And we probably got hot around the same times, just because I felt like
when we came here it was right before the All-Star break and we were still in
second. I don’t know what place they were in. But I noticed that our record
pretty much stayed the same all the way through, as they got hot. And that’s
when we took over first place and continued to stay hot. So I think we’re very
similar teams. The numbers will show that.”

Both are strong at the top of the rotation. Yovani Gallardo(notes) starts Game 1
for Milwaukee, coming off a dominant three-game stretch when he went 2-0 and had
36 strikeouts in 20 1-3 innings.

“He’s pitched good all year, but the way he’s pitched lately has been
lights out,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “I think his confidence coming
in has to be really high. And you won’t see that, because he’s a pretty mellow
guy.”

Greinke will pitch on three days’ rest for Game 2 on Sunday.

Arizona counters with 21-game winner Kennedy in the opener. And while
manager Kirk Gibson hasn’t set his rotation yet, Daniel Hudson(notes) is a strong No. 2
starter.

“Obviously the big thing for us against Gallardo is that Ian throws well,”
Gibson said. “We expect a tight game. If he can match and keep the game close,
just like many of these postseason games, we’ll have a shot at winning.”

The late innings should be a case of strength versus strength.

Brewers closer John Axford(notes) has converted his last 43 save opportunities.
Francisco Rodriguez handles the eighth inning, and the rest of the bullpen is
tough to score on, too.

“When we go to our bullpen I don’t expect a run to be given up,” Roenicke
said. “It’s not fair, but I’ve seen it so long that that’s what I expect.”

Arizona also has a solid, deep bullpen. And its offense doesn’t quit; the
Diamondbacks rallied from behind to win 48 times this season.

“I think that’s kind of the magic of the series,” Gibson said.

And while the Brewers are known for the baseball-bashing antics of Braun and
Fielder, the Diamondbacks aren’t exactly lacking power. Milwaukee led the NL
with 185 home runs this season, but Arizona was fourth with 172.

And Arizona scored more runs, 731 to Milwaukee’s 721.

“They didn’t get as much attention as some other teams to start of the
season, but they believe in themselves,” McGehee said. “They’re exciting to
watch. Should make for one heck of a series.”

Chris Jenkins can be reached at www.twitter.com/ByChrisJenkins

(Sports Network) – After back-to-back seasons with over 90 losses there
weren’t many people who were picking the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the
National League West this season.

But that’s exactly what happened, as Arizona returns to the postseason for the
first time since 2007 and opens the best-of-five National League Division
Series on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Arizona lost 97 games last season and was an afterthought heading into this
year. However, the team took on the identity of manager Kirk Gibson, got
terrific seasons from an emerging ace in Ian Kennedy and a burgeoning
superstar in Justin Upton and easily claimed the fifth division title in team
history, finishing a comfortable eight games in front of the defending world
champion San Francisco Giants.

“We finished a great regular season,” Gibson said. “The team came together
well, we’re healthy, and now we’ve got some decisions to make to see how we’re
going to attack the Brewers.”

Gibson’s crew battled the Brewers for the second seed in the National League
up until the season’s final day before Milwaukee finally emerged.

While securing home-field for the first round was an important goal for both
Milwaukee and Arizona, it was even more important for the Brewers, who set a
franchise record by going 57-24 at Miller Park this season.

“It’s special, said Ryan Braun. “We recognize that we’re a really tough team
to beat here. It’s a huge advantage for us to know that we have home-field
advantage, at least for the first round. It was definitely a goal of ours from
the beginning of the year.”

The Brewers were a trendy pick in NL Central entering the year thanks to the
acquisitions of Shaun Marcum and Zach Greinke, After a rough start to the year
Milwaukee began to separate itself from the pack and claimed its first
division title since winning the American League East in 1982, the same year
of the team’s last and only trip to the World Series.

Milwaukee is back in the postseason for the first time since 2007 and only the
fourth time in team history.

Arizona won four of its seven meetings with the Diamondbacks this past season.

LINEUP

The Brewers are led by a pair of NL MVP candidates in outfielder Ryan Braun
and first baseman and pending free agent Prince Fielder.

Braun has become one of the best right-handed sluggers in the game and
finished the year second in batting at .332. He also hit 33 home runs with 111
RBI, 109 runs scored and stole 30 bases.

Fielder caught some heat late in the year for alluding to the fact that this
is probably his last year with the Brewers, but he produced yet another great
season, playing in every game and hitting at least 35 home runs with 120 RBI
for a sixth straight season.

Second baseman Rickie Weeks suffered what could have been a season-ending
ankle injury in late July before returning in September. Although he had just
one extra-base hit after returning, but is still a dangerous hitter.

Cory Hart didn’t quite match his breakout 2010 campaign, but still swatted
26 home runs. Fellow outfielder Nyjer Morgan may be a bit eccentric, but often
supplies a much needed spark on the basepaths.

While not as impressive as Braun and Fielder’s MVP cases, people in Arizona
will tell you that Justin Upton is every bit as good as his counterparts. The
right-fielder set a career-high in games played (159) and hit .289, while
setting personal-highs with 31 home runs, 88 RBI and 105 runs scored.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit 30 homers in 366 at-bats at Double-A Mobile
before jumping to the big leagues, and hit a homer off Tim Lincecum in his
first game up at the beginning of August. He ended the year with eight homers
and 26 RBI.

Miguel Montero continued to emerge as one of the best catchers in baseball
this season. He hits .282 with 18 home runs and 86 RBI, but it was his work
behind the plate this season that bought rave reviews.

Center fielder Chris Young also became the first Diamondbacks player with
three 20-20 seasons, finishing with 20 homers and 22 steals.

EDGE: BREWERS

STARTING PITCHING

Milwaukee will open the series with right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who led
the team in wins (17) and strikeouts (207) while working 207 1/3 innings, and
pitched the team’s only complete game.

Over his final three regular-season starts Gallardo pitched to a 1.77 ERA and
struck out 36 batters over 20 1/3 frames.

“I’m going to just focus on the game,” said Gallardo, who did not allow an
earned run in seven innings in the 2008 postseason. “That’s the goal.
Obviously, it’s going to be exciting for all of us, but I just need to do what
I’ve been doing all year.”

Who starts the second game is still up in the air. Roenicke had wanted to go
with righty Zack Greinke on short rest in Game 2 since he was 11-0 with a 3.13
ERA in 15 Miller Park starts this season.

Gallardo and Greinke combined for 31 Miller Park starts with the Brewers
winning 28 of those games, 15 of them being Greinke assignments,

However he threw 74 pitches on short rest on Wednesday and will instead go in
Game 3 on Tuesday. Instead it will likely be righty Shaun Marcum in Game 2.
He was 8-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 16 road starts, compared to a 5-4, 4.81 ERA at
home.

Veteran left-hander Randy Wolf, who led the team with 212 1/3 innings pitched,
will probably start a Game 4 if needed.

Like the Brewers, the Diamondbacks have no concerns on who starts Game 1, as
that will fall on the right arm of NL Cy Young Award candidate Ian Kennedy.
The 26-year-old hurler enjoyed a breakout campaign that saw him go 21-4 with a
2.88 ERA. He ended the year strong winning 13 of his final 14 decisions,
including his last six.

Righty Daniel Hudson should get the ball in Game 2. Hudson was 16-12 on the
year, but lost his last three starts.

Veteran Joe Saunders will likely get the call in Game 3 with rookie Josh
Collmenter taking the hill in Game 4 if needed.

EDGE: BREWERS

BULLPEN

THe Brewers bolstered their bullpen in a big way over the All-Star break,
acquiring Francisco Rodriguez to be the eighth-inning guy for closer John
Axford.

After tutoring under Trevor Hoffman until taking over the job last year,
Axford set a Brewers franchise saves record with 46 this season and hasn’t
blown one since April,

K-Rod is not happy in his role, but he gets the job done and hasn’t allowed a
run in his last 15 appearances. He along with veterans like righty LaTroy
Hawkins and lefty Takashi Saito give the Brewers a bullpen full of former
closers.

Righties Kameron Loe appeared in 72 games, and Marco Estrada, as well as left-
hander Chris Narveson could also be called upon.

J.J. Putz re-established himself as one of the best closers in baseball this
season, as he amassed a career high with 45 saves, while converting his last
23 successfully. His biggest contribution may have been in the clubhouse,
though, for a very young Diamondbacks team.

Right-hander David Hernandez, acquired from Baltimore in the Mark Reynolds
deal, has been the primary bridge to Putz and even went 9-for-9 in save
chances when he was hurt. Side-arming righty Brad Ziegler was a non-waiver
trade deadline pickup and has been solid. Gibson will use Joe Paterson and
Alberto Castillo to get lefties out.

EDGE: BREWERS

BENCH

Jerry Hairston Jr. can play almost everywhere on the field and was an
invaluable addition when Weeks went down. Carlos Gomez will see some time in
the outfield and could be used as a late inning pinch running option.

There is a good chance that Gibson opts to start Lyle Overbay at first in
place of the young Goldschmidt. Either way he has a bat with pretty good pop
at his disposal off the bench. Geoff Blum was slated to be the team’s starting
third baseman but had a knee injury at the outset before breaking his pinkie.
Although he’s only had 49 at-bats, he could be useful here in October. Collin
Cowgill will also likely be on the roster and can play all three outfield
positions.

EDGE: DIAMONDBACKS

PROGNOSIS

This could be the best of the four Division Series matchups as both teams are
so evenly matched. Milwaukee is a little deeper in the starting rotation
department and has a little more pop in its lineup and that should be the
difference. Gallardo, Marcum and Greinke are a pretty solid 1-2-3. Not to
mention in a tight series like this, it’s always wise to go with the team with
home-field advantage. I don’t think it gets to a fifth game, though.

Prediction: BREWERS in FOUR

The Sports Network

MILWAUKEE – The Diamondbacks will look across the field Saturday and see a team with power and speed, a lineup capable of scoring in a variety of ways, and they’ll see a club with a solid rotation and shutdown relief.

---

How the 2011 D-Backs were built | Sizing up the Brewers | D-Backs’ postseason

---

In many ways, the Diamondbacks will see a mirror image of themselves when they face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 11:07 a.m. Saturday at Miller Park.

“I feel like we’re a lot alike,” Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young said. “They’re an exciting ballclub, as well. They have a mixture of good pitching and an exciting offense, like we do. It should be fun. We’ve played good games against those guys all year so it should be exciting to watch.”

The Brewers largely depend upon a pair of MVP candidates in the middle of their lineup in left fielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder, but they have other dangerous hitters, including Rickie Weeks, Nyjer Morgan and Corey Hart.

They have a former Cy Young Award winner in right-hander Zack Greinke and another right-hander, Yovani Gallardo, who reached the 200-strikeout mark for the third consecutive season.

“They’ve got some very powerful players and an interesting mix of speed,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “They’re very aggressive, much like we are. Fielder and Braun are exceptional. Their pitching staff is pretty solid.”

Braun finished second in the league with a .332 average, slammed 33 home runs and was 33 of 39 in stolen base attempts. Fielder hit 38 home runs and hit .291 with a .415 on-base percentage.

The Diamondbacks played competitively against the Brewers during the season, taking four of seven games, but they seemed to catch them at the right times. Braun played in only three of the games, and Fielder looked out of sorts offensively during a four-game series in Phoenix in July.

The Brewers were five games over .500 in late July before going on a 27-5 tear to take charge in the NL Central. They finished by winning nine of 12 games to hold off the Diamondbacks for home-field advantage.

“They’ve got good momentum going,” Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero said. “They’ve been playing pretty good in the second half. I don’t know if it’s going to be the same team that we played earlier. It’s the same players, but the momentum is a little different.”

Knowing that Fielder would eligible for free agency after this season, the Brewers began bolstering their club in the off-season in hopes of making one last run with their best players intact.

They added a pair of frontline starters in December, bringing in Greinke in a deal with Kansas City and adding the underrated Shawn Marcum in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. They added another major piece in July, acquiring closer Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets and plugging him into a setup role.

“When you have those kinds of years you hope to have, most of your moves have to work,” Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “And you have to have surprises from people you don’t even count on.”

Republic writer Bob McManaman sat down with Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young, one of the most tenured players on the team, for a friendly word-association game. The challenge: Seek thoughtful one-word descriptions on some teammates and coaches who shaped the 2011 season.

---

How the 2011 D-Backs were built | Sizing up the Brewers | D-Backs’ postseason

---

Question: All right, let’s start down at the corner over there. Ryan Roberts?

Answer: Passionate.

Q: The man right next to your locker, Justin Upton?

A: Confident.

Q: J.J. Putz?

A: Leader.

Q: Ian Kennedy?

A: Relaxed.

Q: Daniel Hudson?

A: Gamer.

Q: David Hernandez?

A: Gentle Giant.

Q: Miguel Montero?

A: Energetic.

Q: Henry Blanco?

A: He’s a leader, too.

Q: Kirk Gibson?

A: Commander in chief. . . . Or, intense.

Q: Alan Trammell?

A: Motivator.

Q: Don Baylor?

A: Big Bear.

Q: Eric Young?

A: He’s energetic, too.

Q: Stephen Drew?

A: Country.

Q: Gerardo Parra?

A: Underrated.

Q: Sean Burroughs?

A: Out there.

Q: Josh Collmenter?

A: Caveman. . . . No, wait. Witty.

Q: Aaron Hill?

A: Loose and free.

Q: How about you? Chris Young?

A: Me? Positive.

More In

‘);
$(‘#ody-nextstoryslider’).append(‘Read More’);
return;
}
var _art,_right,wpElem;
var _beenzagged=(function(){
var _u = GEL.env.user;
return(_u.state || _u.yob || _u.zip )?true:false;
})();
var _laststate=(function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’);
var _closed = _t.getValue(‘lastNextStoryState’);
return _closed;
})();
if(!_beenzagged){
getContent();
var _slidestate=_laststate==’false’?'handle’:”;
_art=$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article’);
_right=$(‘.ody-skin .ody-aside’);
wpElem=_art.height()>_right.height()?_art:_right;
var slider=GEL.widget.slider(wpElem,’ody-nextstoryslider’,{
close: ‘‘,
closeCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'false’)
},
direction: ‘right’,
handle: ‘‘,
openCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'true’)
},
offset: function(){
var offSet=$.waypoints(‘viewportHeight’)-($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height());
if(($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height())

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks nearly snatched another improbable win before heading to the playoffs.

But Matt Kemp grabbed a piece of Dodgers history.

Kemp hit a two-run homer to become the first Dodger in 70 years to lead the NL in home runs and RBIs, and Los Angeles had to withstand another late-inning grand slam to beat the playoff-bound Diamondbacks 7-5 on Wednesday night.

A night after blowing a five-run lead in the 10th inning, the Dodgers held on before heading home while the Diamondbacks take off for Milwaukee and the NL division series.

“I’m glad it didn’t end like last night, that’s for sure,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

It didn’t matter to the Diamondbacks that it didn’t.

Arizona locked up its NL West title last week, but lost its chance to host the first two games of the NLDS when the Brewers beat Pittsburgh.

Still, the Diamondbacks weren’t ready to concede anything to the Dodgers.

Quiet early in the season finale, Arizona roared back for the second straight night, pulling within two runs in the ninth inning on Cole Gillespie’s grand slam off Ramon Troncosco and Henry Blanco’s solo shot.

Kenley Jansen ended the rally, getting the final two outs for his fifth save, but the Diamondbacks had a more important issue on their minds: Game 1 in Milwaukee on Saturday with ace Ian Kennedy expected to pitch.

“It’s good to finally know who we’re playing,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “It’s the next step, we’re going to be ready.”

The Dodgers were pretty much out of the division race by the All-Star break and finished 82-79. They could be busy during postseason awards, though.

Kemp had one of the best seasons in Dodgers history and is a leading candidate for MVP honors. He hit his 39th homer in the seventh inning to pass Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder for the league lead and finished with 126 RBIs, second-most in Los Angeles Dodgers history to Tommy Davis’ 153 in 1962.

Kemp also led the league in runs, finished third in batting at .324 and became the 13th player in major league history – and the first Dodger – with 30 homers and 40 steals.

Dolph Camilli was the last Dodger to lead the league in homers (34) and RBIs (120) on his way to the 1941 NL MVP award.

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw has a good shot at the NL Cy Young Award, too, after leading the league with a 2.25 ERA and 248 strikeouts while matching Arizona’s Kennedy for most wins with 21.

Dodgers infielder Eugenio Velez also made history, but not in a good way. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to set a modern-day record for non-pitchers with his 46th straight hitless at-bat.

Velez had been tied with Pittsburgh’s Bill Bergen (1909), Dave Campbell of San Diego and St. Louis (1973) and Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell (this season).

In other words, plenty of bad to go with the good for the Dodgers in a season clouded by a bankruptcy filing and owner Frank McCourt’s troubles.

“We accomplished a lot of things in these past two months,” Kemp said. “We showed we could really play and beat some great teams and beat some great pitchers, too. It’s all about starting out strong and finishing strong.”

Arizona put together an unexpected turnaround season, following two 90-loss seasons by winning 94 games on the way to its first NL West title since 2007. The crowning moment came with Friday’s division-clinching win, a bubbly infused celebration that spilled over into the pool behind the outfield wall in right field.

But there was still some work to do after the splash bash: catch Milwaukee for the NL’s second-best record.

Arizona kept pace with a thrilling win over the Dodgers on Tuesday, when Ryan Roberts hit a walk-off grand slam to cap a six-run 10th inning after the Dodgers went up five in the top half.

Arizona became the second team in major league history – with the Pirates in 1991 – to win after falling behind by five or more runs in an extra inning, according to information provided to the Diamondbacks by the Elias Sports Bureau.

After all that excitement, the Diamondbacks didn’t seem to have much left with the scoreboard showing the Brewers well on their way to a 7-3 win over Pittsburgh to secure home-field advantage for the NLDS.

Arizona managed three hits in seven innings against Ted Lilly (12-14) and Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders 12-13) allowed five runs and nine hits before leaving after six innings – with most of his teammates.

The atmosphere changed quickly late – again – when Gillespie hit his grand slam and Blanco followed with the homer that chased Troncosco. Arizona couldn’t complete the comeback this time, with Jansen getting Sean Burroughs and John McDonald to fly out, but the Diamondbacks were more interested in looking ahead than behind.

“It should be fun,” Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young said. “We played good games against those guys all year and I’m sure it’ll be exciting to watch.”

Notes: Arizona led the majors with 501 extra-base hits. … Roberts became the fourth player in history to hit

an extra-inning grand slam with his team trailing by three or more runs with his shot against the Dodgers on Tuesday, according to Elias. Babe Ruth, Roger Freed and Jason Giambi were the others. … Due to a rainout in Washington, the Dodgers failed to play 162 games in a non strike-shortened season for the first time since 1989. … Velez’s last hit was a 12th-inning single off Cesar Ramos on May 18, 2010, against San Diego while playing for the Giants.