A recent five-game losing streak had the first-place Brewers beginning to sweat a little bit.
They haven't had much to worry about when Zack Greinke takes the mound at Miller Park.
The former Cy Young Award winner aims to keep his perfect home record intact this evening and lead Milwaukee to a second straight victory in the opener of a two-game series with the Colorado Rockies.
Milwaukee's big offseason acquisition, Greinke is 14-6 with a 3.93 earned run average in 24 starts this season and has been dominating in front of Miller Park crowds this season. He is 10-0 in 12 starts there, posting a 2.96 ERA.
The right-hander is coming off a tough-luck loss in St. Louis on Wednesday, just his second defeat in nine starts, as he allowed two runs and eight hits over seven innings without a walk. However, he lost a 2-0 decision despite not allowing more than two earned runs for the 11th time in 12 outings.
Greinke, 27, has not factored into the decision of two starts versus the Rockies this year. That includes an outing at home on May 20 as he was charged with four runs over six innings.
The Brewers will look to ride Greinke after halting their longest losing streak since early May with a 3-2 victory over the Phillies on Sunday. After dropping the first three contests of the four-game set, Nyjer Morgan smacked an RBI double and then scored the go-ahead run on Ryan Braun's single during a two-run seventh inning.
Yovani Gallardo gave up a pair of solo homers over his seven-inning outing, matching a career high by striking out 12.
"It was the same type of game that we played yesterday," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, referring to Saturday's 3-2 loss in extra innings. "Yovani was outstanding. We got the hits when we needed them, we also squared up on some balls that were caught. I don't want us to think it is a must-win game, but it was huge."
Milwaukee leads the division by 6 1/2 games over the Cardinals and aims for a sixth straight home win over the Rockies after sweeping a three-game series at Miller Park from May 20-22. The Brewers have won five of seven overall against Colorado this season, winning each game by two runs or fewer.
Colorado, though, outscored Milwaukee, 16-3, in its two wins and picked up its second straight victory overall by besting Cincinnati on Sunday.
The major return in the deal that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland, Drew Pomeranz made his major league debut and hurled five scoreless innings in the 4-1 win. He allowed two hits and walked a pair while striking out two.
"He has a very quick arm and he competed very well," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said of his starter.
Ty Wigginton clubbed a solo home run, while Jordan Pacheco and Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in runs for the Rockies, who rested Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Todd Helton.
Like Pomeranz, Esmil Rogers is trying to make his case for the 2012 rotation, but hasn't been doing a great job as of late. The 26-year-old tries to avoid a fourth straight losing start this evening.
Rogers has a 6.83 earned run average over a five-game winless streak (0-4) since his last win on Aug. 9. He has allowed 40 hits and 18 walks over 29 innings in that time. He was touched for six runs on eight hits and five walks in 5 1/3 frames of a setback last Monday to Arizona.
The righty is 6-5 with a 6.26 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) this season and will face the Brewers for the second time in his career. He did not get a decision the first time he faced them, yielding four runs over 5 2/3 frames.
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