MILWAUKEE — 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 and Prince Fielder, and pulled the surprise of the offseason when they traded for standout starter Zack Greinke.

The Diamondbacks’ biggest star is Justin Upton — 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 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 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.

D-backs vs. Brewers

Saturday: Arizona (I.Kennedy 21-4) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 17-10), 12:07 p.m.

Sunday: Arizona (D.Hudson 16-12) at Milwaukee (Marcum 13-7), 2:37 p.m.

Tuesday: Milwaukee at Arizona, TBA

x-Wednesday: Milwaukee at Arizona, TBA

x-Friday: Arizona at Milwaukee, TBA

When the crowd starts doing the “wave” in the third inning, you know you’ve got a laugher on your hands.

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Diamondbacks-Rockies series | Saturday’s box | MLB scoreboard

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Funny thing is, this one essentially was over after the first inning.

The Diamondbacks struck for five runs in their first turn at bat in support of Josh Collmenter, then bashed their way to a 12-3 rout of the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night in front of 34,849 at Chase Field.

Justin Upton and Miguel Montero led the way, equaling their career highs with six and five RBIs, respectively.

But it was the first time in club history that two Diamondbacks players each had five or more RBIs in a game.

“That’s huge. I didn’t know that. That’s nice,” said Montero, who hit a two-run double, a two-run homer, and forced in a run by drawing a walk. “What can I say? That’s pretty good.”

Upton, who hit a two-run double and added a grand slam, was less impressed with the feat.

“We’re not worried about that,” he said. “In the heat of a game, you just try to score as many runs as you can and win a ballgame. I don’t know what to say. I guess it’s a cool thing to do, but when guys get in scoring position, we’re just trying to drive in runs.”

In addition to making his third consecutive solid start, Collmenter pitched in with some offense of his own. The right-hander collected two hits, including his first RBI in the majors.

It was that hit, a single back up the middle, that gave the Diamondbacks a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Earlier, Upton and Montero each had their two-run doubles.

“That’s big anytime you’re a pitcher. You want to get that lead, whether it’s 1-0 or 2-0, especially early on,” said Collmenter, who improved to 6-5 and extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings until Troy Tulowitzki homered in the second.

“It gives you a little cushion out there and lets you ease into it, get more comfortable on the mound, knowing that you don’t have to be quite as perfect. You can maybe give up a hit here or there and still pitch your way out of it.”

The Rockies, even though they are without injured slugger Carlos Gonzalez (sprained wrist), always are a threat offensively. That’s why it was important for Arizona to keep up the pressure and continue to tack on runs.

Rockies starter Jason Hammel bore the brunt of it, allowing eight runs, 12 hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Montero connected off him in the second inning for his 12th homer on a 0-2 pitch. Rockies reliever Eric Stults walked Montero with the bases loaded in the sixth and then allowed Upton’s grand slam an inning later.

“It was a slider or a cutter,” Upton said of his 17th homer. “He left it up over the inner half of the plate, and it was up, and (I) barreled it up.”

The shot got out of the yard in a hurry, but it looked like it might hook foul down the left-field line.

“I was watching it and making sure it didn’t hook foul,” Upton said. “It was hooking, too, but it got past the pole before it hooked too far.”

All in all, this was exactly the type of game the Diamondbacks needed, said manager Kirk Gibson, who pointed out shortstop Stephen Drew’s season-ending ankle injury Wednesday and Arizona’s 8-4 loss to the Rockies on Friday.

“You can come in here and feel sorry for yourself or you can come in and have some energy, have some fun,” Gibson said. “I think we did that in pregame, and it carried into the game. Hopefully it will carry into (Sunday) and beyond that.”

Diamondbacks rewind

Parra injured: Left fielder Gerardo Parra was struck on the left wrist by a pitch from Rockies left-hander Eric Stults during the seventh inning Saturday and was replaced by Xavier Nady in the eighth.

Manager Kirk Gibson said X-rays were negative, and he praised Parra’s game, citing his two hits, two walks and three runs scored from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

“He’s more patient, and he can be that way,” Gibson said.

Tulowitzki breaks through: Rockies All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki entered Saturday’s game hitting just .079 (3 for 38) with one extra-base hit this season against the Diamondbacks.

Tulowitzki homered in his first at-bat, however, and later added a single, going 2 for 3 before being replaced along with most of the Rockies’ starting infielders late in the game.

Helton ties Manny: Todd Helton hit his 547th career double in the fourth inning, tying Manny Ramirez for 24th on baseball’s all-time list.

Up next are Eddie Murray and Jeff Kent, who are tied at 22nd with 560 doubles apiece. Former Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez retired with 596 doubles, which ranks 15th all-time, just behind Cal Ripken Jr. (603) and Barry Bonds. (601).

View from the press box

It’s always a difficult decision to wave a starting pitcher around third base when he’s standing at second and a single is hit to left field. Matt Williams sent Josh Collmenter home in that situation in the sixth inning, and the pitcher was tagged out, even though replays appeared to show he was safe. Collmenter said he should have run harder, but should he have been waved home when the Diamondbacks had a four-run lead? It’s rarely worth it in that situation.

HOUSTON – Before Sunday’s game, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson reflected on his decision Saturday to have a conversation with the umpires, which resulted in the Diamondbacks getting a call reversed to their benefit.

It was a rare moment for Gibson to venture out of the dugout and onto the field and, sure enough, not long after the conversation with reporters, he was back out on the field during Sunday’s game.

That confrontation, however, didn’t have a positive outcome for Gibson, who was ejected from his second game of the season, this time by home-plate umpire D.J. Reyburn.

Gibson wanted an explanation on Reyburn’s balk call on pitcher Josh Collmenter that forced home a run for the Astros.

“I didn’t argue,” Gibson said, adding that he “had no idea” why he was thrown out of the game. He wouldn’t comment further.

But before the game, he talked about his philosophy on umpire interactions, saying he doesn’t generally argue judgment calls but will go on the field to stick up for his players, which he did last month with umpire Bob Davidson.

“I’m not a guy that runs down to first base on a close call,” he said, “I mean, I don’t think a guy is trying to screw us over. He sees what he sees and he’s making a call. If it’s something that’s appealable I would be much more inclined to go out.”

Parra pulls it

Left-handed hitting outfielder Gerardo Parra drilled a home run to right field Saturday, just his third homer of the season but, more notably, his first to the pull side since 2009.

Parra routinely shows decent raw power to right field during batting practice, but he tends to have trouble translating it into games, something he has worked on doing with hitting coach Don Baylor.

“His first thought is the other way,” Baylor said. “That’s good, at times. But there’s also a time when you can take advantage of short porches.”

Baylor said sometimes learning to pull the ball with consistency is “the last thing they learn.”

“If he’s going to be a 15-20 (home run) guy, he’s going to have to pull some balls,” Baylor said. “Sometimes it’s about getting into counts so that if a guy makes a mistake, he’ll learn that if he’s ahead 2-0 or 3-1 and he can do that.”

Parra’s defense is another story. There seems to be little he cannot do, particularly when it comes to his arm.

On Friday, for example, he made a catch just in front of the 315-foot sign in the left-field corner and threw a missile to first base on a hop, nearly nailing baserunner Brett Wallace for a double play.

“People tend to look at the box score at-bat but he adds a lot to it on the other side of the ledger,” Gibson said.

Short hop

Double-A Mobile first baseman Paul Goldschmidt connected for his 17th home run of the season Saturday night. He continues to put up monster numbers: .333 average, .455 on-base and .684 slugging with more walks (40) than strikeouts (34) in what is known as a pitcher’s league.

Up next

Florida Marlins

Marlins update: The Marlins are in second place in the NL East thanks to a solid pitching staff. Their rotation (3.63) is the fifth-best in the league and the bullpen (2.68) ranks fourth, but they are without their best pitcher, RHP Josh Johnson, who is on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. One of the Marlins’ better hitters, SS Hanley Ramirez, also is banged up. He has been bothered by foot and back problems. Ramirez is having a down year, but the Marlins are getting strong offensive production from 1B Gaby Sanchez, LF Logan Morrison and RF Mike Stanton. Even with Ramirez hitting just .207, the Marlins are averaging 4.22 runs per game, seventh in the league.

* – Statistics entering Sunday.

HOUSTON – The Arizona Diamondbacks were tired and starting pitcher Daniel Hudson wasn’t sharp.

Then it really got bad.

The Diamondbacks fell behind 6-0 after four innings and it took two two-run homers by Juan Miranda and Chris Young’s two-run infield hit in the seventh inning to rally the Diamondbacks to a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

“It’s a good feeling,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “We could have laid down early in the game. There’s no question we were tired today when we got in here. They picked it up and were fortunate to get the win.”

The rally tied Arizona’s all-time record for a comeback and it was Houston’s biggest blown lead of the season.

Houston catcher Humberto Quintero was injured in a collision at home in the deciding inning. He left the game with a right ankle sprain and was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game.

Pinch-hitter Willie Bloomquist and Ryan Roberts singled to start the seventh inning with Arizona trailing 6-4. Kelly Johnson drove in the fifth run with a single off Wilton Lopez (1-2).

After Stephen Drew walked, Young dribbled the ball in front of home plate. Lopez fielded the ball and threw wildly to Quintero, allowing two runs to score for a 7-6 lead.

“The slow roller was right in front of the plate and he just sat down right in front of the plate,” Roberts said. “I was going to try to go around him but there was no way I could go around him.

“Obviously, you never want to see anyone get hurt in this game. That wasn’t the intention. The first thing I thought of was the Buster Posey thing. That’s what everyone is talking about right now.

“I hope everything’s all right and he’s back soon. I’m not in this to try to get anybody.”

On Wednesday, San Francisco catcher Buster Posey was injured in a collision at home plate and is likely to miss the rest of the season. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year broke a bone in his lower left leg and tore three ligaments in his ankle when Florida’s Scott Cousins scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly.

The Astros called up catcher Robinson Cancel from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

“I think it was an OK play,” Quintero said. “I can be good to go in 7-10 days. The bat made me slide back. It pushed my knee and ankle back.”

Daniel Hudson (6-5) survived the early Astros lead for his sixth victory in seven decisions. He pitched six innings, allowed eight hits, five earned runs and walked one with four strikeouts.

“I didn’t have good stuff early in the game,” Hudson said. “I told myself if they had enough faith to keep me out there, you’ve got to get through it sooner or later.”

Miranda hit a 2-2 pitch off Brett Myers in the fifth inning and got the first multiple homer game of his career in the sixth inning with another two-run homer.

“I’m very happy to do something to help the team win and I’m going to keep working hard to help the team keep winning,” Miranda said through an interpreter.

J.J. Putz pitched the ninth for his 15th consecutive save.

The Diamondbacks have won 12 of their last 14 games.

A double by Hunter Pence and single by Carlos Lee gave Houston two runs in the first inning. They added three runs in the second on a two-run double by Michael Bourn and a single by Jeff Keppinger, who was playing his first game of the season after recovering from foot surgery.

Bourn’s third RBI came on a fourth-inning single.

“The guys came out swinging the bat well,” Astros manager Brad Mills said. “And the quality at-bats continued, so that was good to see.”

Notes: The Astros are 3-2 in their last five games, all decided by one run. … Young, a Houston native, has been at home in Minute Maid Park. He has hit .416 (20 for 48) with four homers, three doubles and 15 RBIs on the Astros’ home field. … Pence has multiple hits in six of his last eight games. … Putz has held the opposition scoreless in 11 of his last 12 appearances. … The Astros claimed RHP Blake King off waivers from the Cardinals. … Miranda has hit safely in 15 of his 22 starts. … Wandy Rodriguez will miss his Saturday start for Houston and undergo a precautionary MRI after reporting discomfort in his left elbow on Friday. Bud Norris will start in his place on Saturday and J.A. Happ will start Sunday’s game.

If the Diamondbacks’ trek back to the land of contending teams survives the long summer, they might look back months later on this homestand, pointing at it as the one that turned around their season.

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Diamondbacks-Twins series | Saturday’s box | MLB scores

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Not only did they make a decisive move with their first-base situation, but maybe, just maybe, this will be the stretch of games in which second baseman Kelly Johnson saved his season.

It was Johnson’s massive grand slam that capped a six-run eighth inning in the Diamondbacks’ 9-6 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night, yet another key hit for the slow-starting second baseman.

”We’ve got a lot of guys that have driven in a lot of runs,” Johnson said. ”I’m happy to be a part of that, too.”

In rallying from a 6-3 deficit, the Diamondbacks notched their fifth consecutive victory and their seventh in the past eight games. They are 5-1 on the homestand, which concludes when they go for a sweep this afternoon, and 15-10 at Chase Field this season.

The game was wild and sloppy for both sides, with poor pitching, defensive miscues and base-running gaffes, but the Diamondbacks, who committed five errors, won anyway.

”I thought we stayed calm, didn’t get frustrated and kind of waited for our opportunity,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. ”We’ve done that a couple of games here now. Our actions are becoming better but we’ve got a long way to go.”

They won despite a shaky return for right-hander Micah Owings and despite committing three errors in the span of two batters in the eighth inning.

For Johnson, it was his second clutch hit on this homestand. After tying Wednesday’s game against the Braves with an RBI single in the 11th inning, he jumped on a 2-1 fastball from Twins closer Matt Capps to complete a rally against the Minnesota bullpen.

”It was beautiful, man,” Johnson’s teammate Miguel Montero said. ”I was so happy for him. Everybody was. We all know he can hit it, and he did it.”

Somewhat lost in gravity of Johnson’s hit was the night from Juan Miranda. Earlier in the day, he sat quietly in the Diamondbacks clubhouse, where across the room Russell Branyan’s old corner locker had been cleared out.

Miranda looked nothing like someone whose baseball life had changed for the better, but he continued to deliver for the Diamondbacks, just as he has throughout this homestand.

He banged a double off the center-field wall in the fourth inning to drive in a run, and he worked a walk against a left-handed pitcher in the sixth.

Then in the decisive eighth, he lined a two-run double over the head of Twins left fielder Delmon Young to drive in two more runs.

The shot made Miranda 8 for 15 with two walks and a hit by pitch on the homestandraising his season average to .269 with a solid .849 on-base-plus-slugging.

The eighth inning also featured a little luck for the Diamondbacks. A Gerardo Parra bunt attempt popped over the head of a charging Twins third baseman Danny Valencia, going for a single. Ryan Roberts’ single to left loaded the bases for Johnson, whose grand slam was the third of his career.

”We had the Navy Seals come in and talk to us,” Gibson said, recalling a spring training visit, ”and they came up with a phrase for us, they use it, it’s called ‘deal with it — DWI.’ We made some mistakes tonight but we dealt with it. Guys didn’t quit.”

Owings, in his first game with the Diamondbacks since being traded to Cincinnati in the Adam Dunn deal in August 2008, could not get out of the sixth inning.

In some ways, he looked like the same pitcher from before, relying heavily on his fastball, pitching aggressively, inconsistent with his off-speed stuff.

But the right-hander who helped the Diamondbacks reach the NLCS in 2007 averaged 90 mph on his fastball.

Trailing 2-1 entering the sixth, Owings gave up a solo homer to Jason Kubel – the second homer he had allowed – and after hits by Justin Morneau and Valencia, Gibson went to his bullpen.

Diamondbacks rewind

Grand finale: Kelly Johnson, who batted eighth Friday night, was back in the familiar two spot on Saturday, and the decision by manager Kirk Gibson was a fortuitous one. His grand slam in the eighth inning capped a Diamondbacks rally, and they went on to win their fifth game in a row. It was Johnson’s third career grand slam.

Risky business: Micah Owings has proven time and again that he knows how to handle the bat. But the Twins did not let Owings’ reputation stop them from intentionally walking Gerardo Parra to get to him. This time, the strategy worked as Owings struck out with two runners on.

Errors aid Twins: The Twins cushioned their lead in the eighth inning thanks to two Diamondbacks errors on the same play. An error on a throw to the plate by right-fielder Justin Upton allowed one run to score, and reliever Aaron Heilman, backing up the play, threw wildly to second. Michael Cuddyer raced home, and the Twins had a 6-3 lead.

Closing it out: J.J. Putz notched his 11th consecutive save to start the season, setting franchise record. Heilman (3-0) got the win.

View from the press box

A couple of days ago, manager Kirk Gibson gave his club a few bunting lessons. The extra work paid off in Saturday’s sixth inning when Gerardo Parra put down a perfect bunt to bring home Chris Young. In the eighth inning, Parra popped a bunt that eluded the glove of third baseman Danny Valencia.

Republic report Jim Gintonio and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

SAN DIEGO – Shortstop Stephen Drew didn’t have much improvement to report with his sore right groin, but he still was holding out hope that he would be able to return to the lineup when the club returns to action Tuesday night in San Francisco.

Drew left in the fourth inning Saturday night after re-aggravating the injury and did not play Sunday. He plans to get additional treatment during Monday’s off day.

“Not really, no,” he said, when asked if he were feeling any better. “It’s good that we gave it a day and then we have another day (today). I think that hopefully by Tuesday it will have calmed down enough that I can get back to playing. I’m just trying to get it calm down.”

He said he first felt the groin “grab” at him while turning a double play during a game last week at Chase Field. It was during another double play, when coming across the bag to throw on Saturday night, that he felt it again.

“I’ll get a massage or something (today), for sure,” he said.

Lefty developing

Manager Kirk Gibson said he has tried to use lefty reliever Joe Paterson in some lower-pressure situations, both so he can face more right-handed hitters and mix in more pitches than just his breaking ball.

“He’s coming along,” Gibson said. “His mentality is much better. He feels more comfortable, a part of the team. Hopefully he won’t get humbled.”

So far, so good: He has allowed just six baserunners (two hits, three walks, one hit batter) and hasn’t been charged with a run in 7 1/3 innings.

Though he opened the season with a couple of shaky outings, including one in which he forced home a run by walking the only batter he faced, he says he isn’t pitching more aggressively. He says he just has had better command.

“I think more comfortable,” he said. “I don’t know about confidence. I might not show it, but there is no shortage of confidence when I’m out there.

“Sometimes you go in there and you have total control and other times you don’t and you have to work with it. Unfortunately for what I do, you usually only get one batter to figure it out.”

Waiting it out

Gibson said the team would decide Tuesday who will step into the rotation to pitch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

Reliever Josh Collmenter seems to be a leading candidate, but Gibson said there are other pitchers being considered.

“If Josh is going to start, Tuesday would be the last day he could probably throw (in relief),” Gibson said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Collmenter, who has allowed two runs in 14 innings of relief, came through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher, posting a 3.50 ERA in 515 innings since being drafted in 2007.

Duke’s schedule

Left-hander Zach Duke’s road back from a broken pitching hand continues Monday with his first of two scheduled outings in extended spring training, Gibson said.

Duke is expected to throw about 30 pitches today and 45 pitches on Saturday, as he’ll begin working on a normal, every-fifth-day schedule.

At that pace, he will need at least four starts before he would be ready to return to the big leagues just before the end of the month.