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Diamondbacks-Brewers Preview

Aug 12, 2010 - 5:35 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Arizona (45-69) at Milwaukee (53-61), 2:10 p.m. EDT

An impressive power display helped the Arizona Diamondbacks continue one of their best stretches of the season. It also might have aided Mark Reynolds' comeback.

After hitting one of the Diamondbacks' four consecutive home runs, Reynolds will try to lead his team to its first sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

Before Wednesday night's 8-2 victory in Milwaukee, Reynolds hadn't homered since Aug. 3 in a game in which he also was hit in the head by a pitch from Washington's Collin Balester. He was back in the starting lineup the next game but pulled after striking out in each of his three at-bats.

The third baseman sat out three more contests before returning for the last three, though he entered Wednesday's game in a 1-for-14 slump. After Andy LaRoche and Miguel Montero homered with one out in the fourth inning, Reynolds went deep and Stephen Drew followed with another solo shot.

"I didn't even swing very hard at it," said Reynolds, tied for sixth in the majors with 26 homers. "I just put the barrel on it."

The Diamondbacks, who homered five times in their previous six games combined, tied a major league record with the run of four consecutive homers.

"I don't know what to tell you about that," manager Kirk Gibson said. "It was a freak thing. I was happy to be part of it."

The Diamondbacks (46-69) have won six of seven and can match their longest winning streak of the season by completing a four-game sweep of the Brewers (53-62) on Thursday.

This is the 29th series between these teams since the Diamondbacks came into existence in 1998, but they have never swept one from Milwaukee.

Rodrigo Lopez (5-10, 4.66 ERA) will try to make it happen, but he's 0-3 with a 5.70 ERA in his past five starts. However, the right-hander has allowed three runs in each of the last two.

Lopez will face the Brewers for the first time since July 14, 2007, and is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts against them.

A winner in five of six before this series, Milwaukee will counter with Randy Wolf (8-9, 4.81), who has settled down since the worst outing of his career.

The veteran left-hander was tagged for 12 runs and 13 hits in a loss to Pittsburgh on July 21 but has since gone 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA in the three starts. He earned that win Saturday, allowing two runs over 6 2-3 innings in a 5-2 victory over Houston.

"Ever since that nightmare game, I feel pretty good out there," Wolf told the team's official website. "When you have a game like I did against the Pirates, you can either dwell on it or move on. Well, I moved on."

Wolf beat the Diamondbacks on May 8, allowing three runs and six hits over six innings of a 17-3 rout. He's 9-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 17 career matchups and has won the past three decisions.

While Corey Hart returned to the lineup Wednesday after not starting the previous two games due to a sore back, Ryan Braun's status remains unknown because of a wrist injury. The All-Star outfielder struck out as a pinch hitter Wednesday in his only at-bat of this series.