Game 1: Milwaukee 4 Arizona 1
The last time the Brewers played in the postseason, current Yankee ace C.C. Sabathia stood on the hill for Milwaukee after a deadline deal brought the lefthander over from Cleveland.
This time out, Yovani Gallardo played the role of the ace as the Brewers stiffled the Diamondback bats and took Game 1 of the NLDS 4-1.
Gallardo struck out nine, allowing four hits and one run over eight innings of work--building upon a regular season that yielded a career high 17 wins for the 25-year old.
It was Gallardo's second stint in the postseason, pitching on the same staff that featured Sabathia in 2008 that was unable to escape the first round of the playoffs.
During the 2008 postseason, Gallardo started one game and appeared in another as a reliever, notching seven scoreless innings of work as all three of the runs he allowed were unearned.
He now has pitched 15 total innings in the playoffs with just one earned run charged to his name, giving Gallardo a career ERA of 0.60 in the postseason.
The middle of the Brewers lineup lived up to their All-Star billing, going a combined 5-for-12 for the game to give 21-game winner Ian Kennedy all he could handle.
The three, four and five spot in the lineup wasn't nearly as productive for Arizona, yielding one hit in eleven combined at-bats between Justin Upton, Miguel Montero and Chris Young.
Ryan Braun was 3-for-4 with two runs scored from the third spot in the lineup for the Brewers, but Prince Fielder delievered the dagger from the cleanup spot with a two-run homerun in the seventh.
Fielder's homerun off of Kennedy runied what was on track to be a quality start for Kennedy, making a one run game a 4-1 Brewers advantage.
The three run lead was plenty for Gallardo and closer John Axford, who collected his first career postseason save by retiring Arizona in order in the ninth inning.
GAME 2: Milwaukee 9 Arizona 4
Needing a win to even the series, Arizon turned to Daniel Hudson in Game 2 who won 16 games in 2010 after never winning more than eight games previously in his career.
The Brewers bats weren't as welcoming as the regular season to Hudson, tagging him for five runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched in his first-ever postseason start--enought to secure a 2-0 series lead with Game 3 and Game 4 being played in Arizona.
After the middle of the Milwaukee order finished with five hits in a Game 1 victory for the Brewers, it was deja vu all over again for Arizona as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks combined to go 5-for-12 for the second night in a row.
Braun was 3-for-4 yet again after finishing with the same statline in Game 1, launching a homerun in the first inning of Game 2 to give the Brewers an early 2-0 lead.
Milwaukee starting pitcher Zack Greinke wasn't notably sharp, allowing four runs and eight hits in five innings pitched, but the Milwakee bullpen held Arizona scoreless for the last four innings.
Not only did Milwaukee's bullpen hold the Diamondbacks to zero runs--the four relievers summoned by the Brewers didn't allow a single hit, recording six of the final 12 outs via strikeout.
With the Milwaukee offense rolling on all cylinders, it's going to be an uphill battle to say the least for a young Arizona team to win the final three games of the series.
Game 3 Forecast MIL @ ARI: Prediction: Milwaukee 8 Arizona 7
Collmenter was another pleasant surprise for the Diamondbacks rotation this season, but is unproven and has no postseason experience like many of Arizona's other arms.
The Brewers can flat out hit and have a lineup that has very few holes, meaning Collmenter is going to have to be on point to avoid the sweep.
After watching Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson get hit well by the Brewer bats, it's not likely Collmenter is going to have much more luck.
As long as Shaun Marcum can keep the Brewers in the game, he should get ample run support which should be enough to send Arizona packing.
Look for Milwaukee to continue their offensive assault and capture the first and only sweep of the 2011 postseason.
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