The Diamondbacks are coming off a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals: a series that featured a little bit of everything. Arizona grabbed victories on Monday and Wednesday to take the series. Okay, now that we’re all up to speed, let’s talk about the weekend! As I write this, I’m beginning to realize how much I dislike when the D’backs have an off day because I don’t know what to do when Diamondbacks baseball isn’t on. Oh well, that all changes tomorrow.

Wade Miley is not a ghost, but his numbers can really scare opponents. That may have been the worst attempt at humor ever.

First, for the Milwaukee Brewers. Kyle Lohse will start for the Crew on Friday night. This will be his first start of the year. It was strange off season for Lohse because he wasn’t picked up until the final week of March. I thought it was so weird to see Lohse just sitting and waiting. Kyle spent most of the off season throwing to college guys. Lohse finished last year with a 2.86 ERA, which was good enough for 5th in the National League. The Brewers dropped two of three games against the Colorado Rockies earlier this week and enter the game with a 1-2 record. I don’t see Milwaukee being a playoff team but I still get nightmares when I think about playing at Miller Park (cough, cough NLDS). It might be somewhat worth noting that the Brewers have the best home record in baseball since 2011.

Wade Miley will get the ball for Arizona. I think we all know how 2012 went for Wade and if he can be half as great as we was last year, than things look alright. Miley went 16-11 with a 3.33 ERA in 32 appearances last year. After a dead arm sidelined him for the beginning of the off season, Miley returned to action and racked up close to 14 innings this spring. The lack of innings doesn’t worry me-he’s ready to go. Also, I don’t care what it takes, but I will get one of those Wade Miley garden gnomes this year. Mark my words!

I hope everyone has caught up on their rest after the game on Wednesday and are ready for more baseball. The Brewers and D’backs split their six meetings last year right down the middle and the Snakes are 25-26 all time in “Brew City.”

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July 1, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pinch runner Carlos Gomez (27) steals 2nd base and advance to 3rd base when ball gets past Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill (2) in the ninth inning at Miller Park. Image: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

Record Notes: With the loss on Sunday, the team has now dropped four consecutive road series and hold a 19-22 record on the road overall. They finished their current road trip at 2-4 winning just one in each series against the Braves and Brewers.

*The team is now 13-2 in their last fifteen series-ending games after losing Sunday.

*As a whole, the month of June was good to the Diamondbacks as they improved their record from 23-29 on June 1st to 39-38 on the 30th- a 16-9 June record that allowed them go gain four whole games on the first place spot which also changed with the Dodgers falling to second place.

*The club also outscored their opponents 134-89 on the month giving them a +13 run differential on the season.

GOOD: Ian Kennedy got his first win against the Brewers in his last four attempts- including playoffs- and he pitched well in doing so. The right hander threw seven solid innings of work allowing 3 runs- 1 earned- while striking out seven and he did not allow a homerun for the first time in four starts. The two unearned runs came thanks to an errant throw by Kennedy with two outs in the sixth eventually allowing the two runners on to score. It was a nice win for Kennedy and one that allowed him to finish June at 2-2 after finishing May at a dismal 1-5.

*Of his six wins on the season, he has held his opponents homer-less in five of those- only on opening day did he record a win while allowing a homerun.

*Aaron Hill made history on Friday night posting his second cycle in eleven days and becoming only the second player since 1900 to record such a feat- the other was Babe Herman in 1931 with Brooklyn. Even more impressive is Hill had his second cycle by the sixth inning in just four at bats and his double in the first inning gave the 30 year old his 1,000 career hit. Hill continues to create havoc at the plate and has raised his season average to .300 after going 6 for 13 in the series. He is also up for vote to fill the final roster spot on the N.L. All-Star team. Cast your vote here- polls close Thursday. 

*Josh Collmenter was given a second chance in the starting rotation on Sunday to face the Brewers- a team he has dominated over his career allowing just one earned run in 14 1/3 innings heading into his start yesterday. He certainly didn’t disappoint allowing just one earned run while scattering three hits over six innings of work. He didn’t issue a walk while striking out five Brewers. He has now allowed just two earned runs in his last 21 1/3 innings (.85 ERA). Whether or not Collmenter will be starting Friday night against the Dodgers is unknown but he has at least earned the consideration as he has been arguably the most consistent pitcher on the team since the start of May.

*Paul Goldschmidt finished Friday night just a triple short of the cycle on his way to his first career four hit night. The first baseman had a pair of doubles and a three run homerun in the effort. He had recorded five three hit nights in 2012 before capping off his perfect four hit night Friday.

BAD: RISP. The offense had a difficult time collecting hits with runners in scoring position all weekend and were 0 for 13 on Saturday and Sunday combined. Over the three game set the team was just 5 for 28 (.179) and the team certainly had opportunities to create some runs in the series but couldn’t capitalize.

*Strikeouts. The strikeout was out in full force for the Dbacks offense this weekend going down on strikes 35 times in the three games- including 16 in Saturday’s loss. In Saturday’s game 10 of their last 15 outs were via the strikeout and they recorded at least one strikeout in all nine innings. Sunday included nine strikeouts but the biggest of all came with the bases loaded in the seventh with -one would think- the exact hitter you would want up but Upton went down swinging to end the inning without a run.

*Justin Upton finished the series just 1 for 10 but did walk twice and steal a base. On the season he is 4 for 21 (.190) against the Brewers without an extra base hit and just two RBI’s. Again, the bases loaded strikeout killed a seventh inning rally and could have won the series for the team. It was the second consecutive bases loaded strikeout for Upton- the other came at Chase Field against while facing the Mariners. Still, Upton finished the month of June with a .333 average and an on base percentage of .396. If the 24 year old can find the power numbers we enjoyed last season, he may just be poised for another all-star caliber second half.

*Stephen Drew has just 2 hits in his first 15 at bats with five strikeouts since returning from the D.L. This is obviously nothing to worry about as he is surely working through some of the kinks in his swing as well as just getting comfortable being back in the big leagues playing more often. Expect a solid July from Drew as his swing evens out and he starts driving balls to the gap again for extra bases.

UGLY: Chris Young is again at the bottom of the breakdown as he finished the first two games of the series 0 for 8 with five strikeouts. His average has dropped to an unfortunate .214 and the center fielder has to be looking forward to the All-Star break to try to regroup for the second half grind. June was a struggle for Young as he finished with just 11 hits in 77 at bats while striking out 25 times. Young continues to struggle vs. right handed pitching and perhaps Gibson is going to start to play into that as he sat Young on Sunday to allow the left handed hitting Gerardo Parra in the lineup to face the right handed Gallardo. On the season he is batting a paltry .163 in 104 at bats against righties but .320 when facing lefties. Parra has hit righties at a .286 clip this season.

*Wade Miley was roughed up in what was his worst start as a major leaguer on Saturday giving up eight earned runs on three homeruns in just 3 2/3 innings. He had never given up more than one homerun in a start and had only given up one run in each of his last four starts before Saturday’s slip up. Considering Miley has been so good all season- and against teams of all levels- I wouldn’t read too much into this start. On Sunday, Miley was elected to his first All-Star team to be held in Kansas City next week.

*Baserunning. Technically the team was 2 of 3 in steal attempts this series but when Willie Bloomquist took off for second with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday it was a crucial situation- one in which Bloomquist was gunned down with room to spare- ending any threat the team may have been able to muster up. It was the eighth time this season Bloomquist has been caught stealing and the thirtieth time on the year as a team- worst in all of baseball. Their stealing percentage is a laughable 61%- also worst in the major leagues. Again, there’s a difference between being aggressive and just plain reckless and the Dbacks seem to be struggling with that line.

*Defense. The Diamondbacks defense has been excellent all season and they are first in the National League in fielding percentage but it failed them this weekend on a few occasions. The most obvious would be the throwing error in the ninth inning Sunday by Montero that ended up in center field allowing Parra a shot at Carlos Gomez heading to third on the play- but he proceeded to throw the ball in the dirt, it bounced off of Gomez’s back and into the stands allowing the winning run to score. The team had four errors in the series and now have seven errors in their last five games. Prior to these five games the team had committed just one error in their previous thirteen games including a stretch of seven consecutive games without an error.

NOTES: *The Diamondbacks hit a homerun for the 12th consecutive game on Sunday- a season high.

*Jason Kubel’s solo homerun in the eighth inning Sunday marked the second time on the six game road trip that his homerun provided the lone run for the team. He also hit a solo home run against the Braves on June 26th.

*The team heads home to Chase Field to play three against the San Diego Padres before finishing up the first half of the season against the L.A. Dodgers in a four game set over the weekend. Once again, the team is faced with a make-or-break series and we’ll have to wait and see how they respond.

Now bring on the Padres!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.

Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton (10) makes a running catch in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Record Notes: This series marked the third consecutive road series loss including a four game skid before Thursday’s victory. It was the team’s first win at Turner Field in their last six tries and they are now just 2-7 in their last nine games there dating back to 2010.

*It was the eighteenth time the team has been held to one or fewer runs on the year and seventh time in June alone.

GOOD: Bullpen. The bullpen has been sensational as of late and came through in a big way again this series. Granted, they only factored into one decision but with none of the starters pitching more than five innings, the relievers amassed a season high 14 1/3 innings over the three game set. It was the third straight series the bullpen worked at least 10 innings collectively. Still, they have allowed just three earned runs in their last 25 innings earning three wins and two saves over that stretch. Patrick Corbin made his first appearance since May 21st after being recalled on Monday and was lights out throwing three shutout innings while allowing just one hit.

*Josh Collmenter is really in a groove in his relief role and powered through another four innings of shutout ball on Monday after Daniel Hudson left with an injury. Hopefully that confidence will continue with him as he has been granted a start on Sunday against the Brewers. I am hoping this is a matter of the matchup more than anything as Collmenter has been lights out against the Brewers in his career allowing zero earned runs in 14 innings. With his outing against the Braves, the second year right hander now has an ERA of .63 in June and is averaging just over a strikeout an inning.

*When Justin Upton was benched on June 5-6 to let him regain some composure he called the move ‘unproductive.’ Well, it looks like the 24 year old has sure used those two days off to fuel some of his own production on the field. Upton was 5 for 10 against the Braves with two multi-hit games. Since the benching 18 games ago, Upton has 10 extra base hit efforts batting .377 with 12 runs and 13 RBI’s. He has raised his average to a season high .280. The one blip in his numbers for June has to be his base running. He has now been caught stealing four times in June alone while stealing just one base. In the Braves series he stole a base Tuesday and was caught stealing Wednesday.

BAD: Starting Pitching. None of the starters were able to work beyond five innings and in the first two contests, the Braves had a homerun by their leadoff man-Michael Bourn- and then Jason Heyward- their number two batter- to jump out to quick leads. In all they allowed 11 earned runs off three homeruns working just 10.2 innings between the three guys. Granted, Hudson left in the second with an injury, but not before the Braves were able to throw up five runs.

*Daniel Hudson wasn’t himself as he came off the DL at the end of May but until he signaled for Nagy and a trainer to make their way to the mound none of us knew the extent of the issue. You could read Hudson’s lips as he said, “my elbow is f**king done” and with that his 2012 campaign was finished and likely all of 2013 as well. He is to get a second opinion but the first MRI showed a 100% tear of his UCL- a ligament in his elbow that requires Tommy John surgery. It is a huge blow to the Diamondbacks as well as the 25 year old who won 16 games for the team in 2011 and is 23-13 since being acquired from the White Sox during the 2010 season.  Let’s hope he has a speedy recovery and we’re able to see Hudson back on the hill for the Dbacks in the future. Let’s also be happy that Kevin Towers wasn’t able to ship out Joe Saunders just yet as we may need him for the long haul now.

*RISP. Sometimes too much may be read into this statistic- just ask the Yankees who are second to last in average with runners in scoring position but have the fourth most runs in the A.L. Either way, the Dbacks were just 2 for 20 in the Braves series and left nine runners in scoring position with two outs. On Tuesday they went through a three-inning period where they left a runner on third base each inning without plating a run.

*Ryan Roberts was just 1 for 8 in the series- albeit a three run homerun- but is just 5 for his last 29 (.172). He also hasn’t walked in 13 games. One encouraging sign is that he has only struck out twice in his 29 at bats leading one to believe that it is just a matter of time before his balls begin to fall for base hits. Let’s hope anyway.

UGLY: *Trevor Cahill struggled through his second straight start allowing six runs- four earned- in just five innings of work. The homerun he allowed to Jason Heyward- the second batter of the game- snapped a 20 inning scoreless streak on the road for Cahill. He was good until the fifth when it began to unravel as he walked three hitters and made a throwing error while trying to turn two. He has now allowed ten earned runs in his last eleven innings and the loss Tuesday snapped a four game winning streak, dropping him to 6-6 on the year.

NOTES: Jason Kubel collected his league leading tenth outfield assist on Monday throwing out Chipper Jones at third base.

*Stephen Drew was activated from the DL Tuesday after eleven months of rehab and in his second at bat of the season he recorded a ‘hustle double’ -ruled a single with error- that was encouraging to see as he never hesitated rounding first and diving into second. Drew will most likely play around four games a week for the time being as he has said he still doesn’t feel like he is 100%.

*The highly touted Trevor Bauer made his major league debut on Thursday and last four innings while allowing two earned runs on five scattered hits. He was pulled after 74 pitches as his pitch count was climbing with three walks and a hit batsmen. He also had thrown 50 pitches on Sunday with the Reno Aces before being pulled to prepare for Thursday’s start. He struck out three batters including the first batter he ever faced. See his pregame workout and the strikeout here.

*Chris Young mashed not one but two homeruns in the Braves series to end his Homerun Watch at 29 games including the go-ahead solo shot off closer Craig Kimbrel yesterday.  I will start a Homerun Watch for Willie Bloomquist who hasn’t homered all season- a span of 231 at bats and 57 games. Let’s hope that is the turning point for CY moving forward and we can expect some production from center field again.

*The team flies to Milwaukee to take on the 34-41 Brewers beginning tonight with Ian Kennedy taking on Randy Wolf.

Now bring on the Brewers!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.