What's on Tap this Weekend as Diamondbacks Host the Brewers?

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers will face each other at Chase Field for a three game series starting Friday April 11.

Both teams carry identical 7-6 records into the series, although the Diamondbacks hold the edge in run differential. The D-backs have scored 72 and allowed 59 runs so far, while the Brewers have scored 68 and allowed 74.

Milwaukee is coming off a series win in Colorado, taking two of three from the Rockies. Led by 2024 Manager of the Year Pat Murphy, they won the first two games 7-1 and 17-2, before dropping their series finale by a score of 7-2. It's notable the Brewers' record and run differential is as good as it is, as they started off the the year 0-4 and were outscored by 30 runs in those four games.

The D-backs broke a three-game losing streaking by taking the final two games of their three game set with the Orioles. They cruised to a 9-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon ahead of their Thursday off day.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, 6:40 p.m. MST, 8:40 p.m. CST

Left-hander Jose Quintana is likely to make his season debut for the Brewers. The 36-year-old veteran had a solid season for the Mets last year, making 31 starts and going 10-10 while pitching to a 3.75 ERA. Despite that the Mets opted not to bring him back.

Quintana did not sign with the Brewers until March 5 and has been working his way up to being stretched out. His deal is a team friendly $4 million for 2025 with a $15 million mutual option. There are innings incentives that could increase the total guarantee to $9 million potentially.

Fellow lefty Eduardo Rodriguez will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks. He is 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA but has pitched much better than that, as evidenced by his 3.38 FIP. In his last outing he struck out 12 batters in five innings, but was the victim of some sloppy defense, causing him to allow four runs in five innings and take the loss against the Nationals.

Saturday, 5:10 p.m. MST, 7:10 p.m. CST

NOTE: This game is the Eugenio Suarez Bobblehead giveaway and fans are encouraged to arrive early.

26 year old right-hander Chad Patrick (1-0, 2.45 ERA in 11 IP) will make the third start of his major league career. He also has one relief appearance. He got his first career win against the Cincinnati Reds April 6, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing just one run.

Corbin Burnes (0-1, 5.79 ERA) will make his third start for the Arizona Diamondbacks against his former team. Burnes had a disappointing outing against the Nationals last Saturday, giving up four runs in five innings to take the loss. He was not able to command his trademark cutter, and ended up walking four batters and allowing seven hits

Sunday, 1:10 p.m. MST, 3:10 p.m. CST

RHP Freddy Peralta (1-1, 2.00 ERA) is the last man standing from the Brewers' originally-intended five man rotation. They have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, including Brandon Woodruff, DL Hall, and most recently Nestor Cortes.

The 28-year-old Peralta is already a seasoned veteran of seven-plus seasons, and has been extremely tough on the D-backs over the years. In five games, 21.1 innings, he's 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA. On September 13 last year he went five innings, allowing one run in a 2-1 Brewers victory.

RHP Zac Gallen (1-2, 5.28 ERA) is looking to rebound from a poor outing on April 7. He did not have his command, walking four and throwing just 50 strikes among 93 pitches. He lasted just 4.2 innings and gave up five runs in a loss. That outing came on the heels of a masterful 13-strikeout performance in 6.2 shutout innings against the Yankees in his previous game.

Bullpens

Brewers closer Trevor Megill has not worked since April 4. The Brewers had a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning in Colorado Thursday, but Joel Payamps allowed four runs in the eighth and Megill never got in the game.

Justin Martinez has been electric this year, and has yet to allow a run. He appears poised to take over the majority of the save chances for the Diamondbacks. Just don't be surprised if manager Torey Lovullo choose to play matchups with A.J. Puk if it lines up with multiple left-hand batters in the ninth. Each pitcher has two saves, but Puk has allowed two solo homers in five innings of work.

Stars on Offense

Jackson Chourio is batting .310 with four homers and 16 RBI in 13 games. That level of production may be difficult to maintain however, as he's yet to take a walk and has struck out 17 times.

Corbin Carroll leads all of MLB in WAR (1.2 Baseball Reference, 1.3 Fangraphs). He's batting .320 with five homers and 11 runs scored and eight RBI while batting mostly leadoff for the Diamondbacks. Carroll has taken six walks and been hit by pitch three more times in 59 plate appearances. He sports a .424 OBP and .740 slugging percentage. His 1.124 OBP is second only to Kyle Schwarber in the National League.