Arizona Diamondbacks banking on Josh Collmenter to tackle Brewers in NLDS Game 3 – MLB Update
Desperately needing a win to avoid elimination from the post-season as early as the third game in the National League Division Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be heavily banking on Josh Collmenter to rekindle the spark in their dugout after losing
the first two games against Milwaukee Brewers on the road.
A remarkable comeback after the All-Star break saw the Diamondbacks topple the reigning World Champions San Francisco Giants to win the NL West title from a position where no one would have ever expected them to do so. This time, they need to stage a replica
of that performance for survival in the post-season.
Diamondbacks' third baseman Ryan Roberts shunned talks about panic in the dugout and stated that the team has the confidence of staging yet another comeback in the season.
After getting the better of Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson in game one and two respectively, the Brewers have Collmenter next in line to deal with. Collmenter impressed in the regular season, finishing 10-10 with an earned-run average of 3.38. To add to his
confidence, he bagged 100 strike-outs in 24 starts to end his rookie season impressively.
Explaining the selection of Collmenter for game three, manager Kirk Gibson explained that the rookie pitched 14 scoreless innings against the offensive powerhouse in consecutive starts during July. Hopefully, he will rise to the occasion and give the Diamondbacks
a much-needed thrust for the playoffs.
Collmenter said, "Against the Brewers, I had a lot of things working. I was able to establish the fastball, work a changeup in on them and really kept them uncomfortable."
However, with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in the form of their life, even Collmenter might not be enough to halt them. Combined, the duo has gone 9-for-16 in the first two games with six runs and six RBIs. Two of these runs have come as home-runs and this
stint might not end this early.
To counter Arizona’s home-advantage, the visitors will start Shaun Marcum against Collmenter on Tuesday, October 4. Playing on the road, Marcum registered eight wins from 16 starts in the regular season at an ERA of just 2.21. He has dropped just three games
on the road and will have to do something extraordinary to lose this one.
Having said this, the D-backs are in with a chance to take the NLDS to the fourth game at least, if not beyond.
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