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Jamie Moyer will make his ninth start of the season for the Colorado Rockies on Monday when he faces the Miami Marlins.

Forty games into the season and the Rockies will look to the 49-year-old lefty to be the first Colorado pitcher to win back-to-back starts this season. (Moyer beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last start.)

The Rockies are the only team that does not have a pitcher who has won consecutive starts this season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Moyer will oppose Mark Buehrle, marking the first time in almost four years that opposing starters had made a combined 1,000 starts. On Sept. 19, 2008, Barry Zito and the Giants beat Greg Maddux and the Dodgers, in what turned out to be the final loss of Maddux's career.

Also when Moyer takes the mound on Monday at Marlins Park, it will be the 50th major-league stadium he’s pitched in during his 25-year career. The only active stadium that Moyer has not pitched in is Target Field in Minnesota. Among players to debut since 1900, Moyer has pitched at the most parks (regular-season games only), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The matchup will also feature a pitcher with more than 250 wins (Moyer, 269) against one who has thrown two no-hitters. According to Elias, the last time a pitcher with at least 250 wins opposed a pitcher with at least two no-hitters was June 21, 2005, when Randy Johnson faced Hideo Nomo.

- Kenton Wong, Doug Kern and Nate Jones contributed to this post.

The Tampa Bay Rays scored seven runs in the first four innings to roll past the Oakland Athletics for their 10th straight win at Tropicana Field. That’s the second-longest single-season home winning streak in franchise history, trailing only an 11-game run in 2008.

The Rays are the first American League team to start 13-1 at home since the Minnesota Twins won 14 of their first 15 home games in 2002. In 2009, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the last MLB team to start 13-1.

David Price was able to shut down the Athletics with the combination of his fastball and slider.

Sixty-three percent of Price’s pitches were fastballs, and the A’s went 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in at-bats ending with the heater.

With two strikes, Price went with his slider to end the at-bat. He threw 11 of his 15 sliders with two strikes and recorded six strikeouts. That’s his most whiffs with the slider since 2009.

He didn’t even need to stay in the zone to retire the opposing hitters. Over half of his pitches (56 of 106) were outside the strike zone. The Athletics swung and missed on 58 percent of pitches outside the zone, including six strikeouts. Price hadn’t induced as many chases on pitches outside the zone in a start since his rookie season.

With the win, Price improves to 30-3 at home in his career when getting at least three runs of support.

Around the Diamond
• Albert Pujols went four at-bats without a home run on Friday. His 108 at-bats without a home run this season are his longest single-season streak in his career, passing a 105 at-bat streak last season. Two long homer droughts were snapped Friday, as Shin-Soo Choo (67 at-bats) and Mark Reynolds (66 at-bats) hit their first of the season.

• Also in Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels were shut out with Ervin Santana on the hill for the fifth straight time. Thanks to our friends at Elias, we know that this is the first time in major-league history that a starting pitcher has received no run support over five straight starts (11 pitchers had gone four straight starts without a run scored on their behalf).

• Wilson Ramos hit a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies to pick up their MLB-leading fifth walk-off win of the season.

• Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3 with a home run against Bruce Chen, improving to 11-for-22 with seven homers in his career against Chen. That is the most home runs he has hit against any pitcher in the majors.

• Stephen Strasburg allowed two home runs to right-handed hitters; entering the game, he had only allowed one homer to a righty in his career.

• Jerry Hairston Jr. went deep for the Dodgers, and has now hit a home run for six different teams since 2009. No other player has hit homers for as many teams in the same span.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets 5-4, snapping a nine-game losing streak in one-run games. According to Elias, that was the second longest streak in franchise history; the Diamondbacks lost 13 consecutive one-run games in 2004.

• Jamey Carroll singled in the first inning to snap a streak of 47 hitless at-bats for the Twins. Elias reports that it was the longest hitless at-bat streak by a team in a season since the San Diego Padres also went 47 at-bats between hits in June 1995.

Andrew Davis contributed to this post.

Whether it’s a freak injury or a demotion, the New York Yankees are the latest team in 2012 in search of a new closer.

With Mariano Rivera suffering a torn ACL in his right knee on Thursday, the question now becomes who pitches the ninth inning for the Yankees.

Among Yankees not named Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano has the most career saves with 90. But, David Robertson has been one the top relievers since the start of last season.

Among active pitchers who have thrown at least 200 innings, Robertson has the highest rate of strikeouts per nine innings at 12.17. Since last season, Robertson’s K per 9 is 13.7, compared to 8.2 for Soriano.

Robertson also led all relievers in 2011 with 3.9 wins above replacement (WAR).

Since recording his first save in 1995, Rivera’s 608 saves – in addition to being the most in major-league history – are more than the Kansas City Royals (587), Arizona Diamondbacks (571) and Tampa Bay Rays (521). (Arizona and Tampa Bay’s first seasons were 1998.)

Rivera’s 2.21 ERA is the lowest in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings. His 1.00 WHIP is second only to Addie Jones’ 0.97 in major-league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

As good as Rivera has been in the regular season (14 30-save seasons, 15 consecutive 20-save seasons), he took things to the next level in the postseason.

Rivera is the all-time postseason leader in appearances (96), saves (42) and ERA (0.70).

In those 96 postseason appearances, only two players hit home runs off Rivera. Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians in Game 4 of the 1997 ALDS, and Jay Payton of the New York Mets in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

Whether Robertson or Soriano take over for Rivera, the impact on the Yankees' playoff chances will be minimal, according to Accuscore.

With Rivera, the Yankees chances of making the postseason were 64.5 percent. With Robertson or Soriano, New York's postseason chances do decrease, but only a little more than a percentage point (63.3 with Robertson, 63.2 with Soriano).

One of the greatest improvements Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick made from 2010 to 2011 was his effectiveness against left-handed batters. As a right-handed pitcher, it was an issue for him in 2010 as they hit .312 with a .902 OPS and strikeout rate of just under 10 percent. In 2011, those numbers improved to .234 BA, .763 OPS and a 13.0 percent strikeout rate. And entering Monday, his 2012 performance against left-handers had continued to improve, with a .200 BA, .585 OPS and a strikeout rate north of 15 percent. And then the Arizona Diamondbacks came along.

Monday's action stopped Kendrick's improving trend right in its tracks. The Diamondbacks may have been aware of the trends, but they may have been paying attention to a different one - in four career appearances against Arizona, Kendrick had allowed a line of .357/.379/.607 (BA/OBP/SLG) to left-handed hitters, compared to a .234/.333/.404 line against right-handers. On Monday, left-handed batters registered four hits in eight at-bats against Kendrick, including two extra-base hits.

It becomes additionally painful when one considers who was supposed to start Monday's game - Cliff Lee. Not only has Lee held Diamondbacks lefties to a .229/.222/.314 line in his career, very few pitchers have been tougher on lefties overall since Lee came to the National League - he ranks fourth among starters in opponents batting average (.191) and second in OPS (.501).

For some historical perspective on just how ineffective Kendrick's start was, consider that he became the first Phillies starter to allow 10 or more hits and and seven or more earned runs in three or fewer innings pitched since Mike Mimbs did so on May 11, 1996. In fact, it's only the fourth time it's been done since 1980.

Sabathia leaning on slider: CC Sabathia's slider was effective on Monday against the Texas Rangers – he threw it to register six of his eight strikeouts. Sabathia threw a total of 34 sliders, increasing the number of times he's used the pitch for the third consecutive start. It also continues a multi-year trend of increased slider usage; Sabathia threw it 12.9 percent of the time in 2010, 22.9 percent last season and 27.3 percent this season. The merits of such an increase can be debated, but what cannot be is the effectiveness it has had this season – only one qualified starting pitcher has a higher strikeout rate with the slider than Sabathia (Jered Weaver).

Lincecum velocity issues remain: Tim Lincecum’s season-long struggles with his fastball continued in the win over the New York Mets. His average velocity on the pitch continues to drop, going under 90 MPH for the first time since July 2010. Despite the issues with his fastball velocity, Lincecum threw it 70 times, which is 21 more than he used it in his previous 2012 high.

Overall, his average fastball velocity now stands at 90.1 this season, compared to 92.2 last season. He has yet to hit above 93.1 miles per hour this season, whereas he topped out at 96.6 last season.

Stats & Info insights into this morning's top sports stories.

1. LAKERS BEAT THUNDER IN WILD GAME: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma Thunder, 114-106, in double overtime. One of the best games of the season was marred by an incident late in the second quarter. Metta World Peace was ejected after he hit Thunder guard James Harden in the head with his elbow. The Lakers forward has been suspended 13 times, totaling 111 games, in his career.

2. KINGS COMPLETE HUGE UPSET: The Los Angeles Kings shocked the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1, in overtime to win the Western Conference Quarterfinals in five games. According to Elias, Vancouver is the first Presidents' Trophy-winning team to be knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in fewer than six games.

3. YOUNG SEGUIN SAVES THE DAY: The Boston Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals, 4-3, behind the first career playoff OT goal of 20 year-old Tyler Seguin. Each game in this series has been decided by one goal. According to Elias, the Bruins-Capitals series is the first in NHL playoff history in which each of the first six games were decided by a one-goal margin.

4. HAMLIN WINS AT KANSAS: Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. It’s Hamlin’s second win of 2012, and 19th of his Cup Series car. The win also marked the 199th Cup win for the #11 car, making it the winningest car in series history.

5. KENNEDY WINS AGAIN: The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Atlanta Braves, 6-4, as Ian Kennedy improved to 3-0 this season. According to Elias, Kennedy has won his last nine regular-season decisions, tying him with Clayton Kershaw for the second-longest current winning streak in the majors, behind Ivan Nova (15).

For eight innings on Wednesday, Justin Verlander pitched like the reigning American League MVP and Cy Young winner. Twenty-three pitches later, the Detroit Tigers were on the way to their first loss of the season.

Verlander needed just 81 pitches to get through the first eight innings against the Tampa Bay Rays with the Tigers leading 2-0. That brought him to 16 scoreless innings with just three hits allowed on the season. In the ninth, he allowed four runs after surrendering three hits and a walk.

Verlander was the first pitcher to throw eight scoreless innings before allowing four or more runs in the ninth inning to take a loss since Tim Hudson for the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 22, 2005, against the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s the first starting pitcher to pick up a loss after allowing no runs on one hit or fewer in the first eight innings of a game his team led entering the ninth since Mark Langston of the Seattle Mariners in 1989. Langston took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before losing to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Verlander struggled with his fastball in the ninth inning, seemingly from over-throwing the pitch. In his first 16 innings this season, Verlander averaged 93.1 mph on his fastball, reaching a maximum velocity of 97.9. On 13 fastballs in the ninth inning against the Rays, every pitch came in above that average. He measured as high as 99.5 mph and averaged 97.2 during the frame.

Even with the extra oomph, the Rays were able to get to Verlander because he was leaving the ball over the plate. Entering the ninth, opposing hitters were 2-for-25 against Verlander’s fastball as he threw only eight percent down the heart of the plate. In the ninth inning, he threw 31 percent of his fastballs straight down the middle, including two hits by the Rays.

Quick Hits

• With the Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks losing and the Minnesota Twins winning, every major-league team has at least one win and one loss.

• Six days after tying a career-high by allowing 10 hits against the St. Louis Cardinals, Josh Johnson didn’t make it out of the fourth inning against the Phillies after allowing a career-high 11 hits.

• Peter Bourjos hit the second inside-the-park home run in Target Field history. The ball traveled 372 feet and would have been out of 10 ballparks.

• Tim Lincecum lasted just 2⅓ innings against the Colorado Rockies, his shortest outing in 157 career starts.

• The Oakland Athletics won in the bottom of the 12th inning when Jonny Gomes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It was the first time game-ending hit by pitch since … Brad Lidge hit Gomes as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies on August 21, 2011. From Elias, it was the first game to end with back-to-back hit batters since 1966.

• Stephen Strasburg tossed six scoreless innings, topping 100 pitches for the first time in 19 career starts with the Nationals.

Each Sunday, ESPN Stats & Information reviews significant moves from the past week.

Diamondbacks trade with Athletics for P Trevor Cahill
Cahill is coming off a disappointing season, in which his ERA rose more than a run from 2010, even though his strikeout-to-walk ratio and home run rate were almost identical in both seasons.

The difference in Cahill’s performance over the last two seasons was a BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) that rose from an MLB-low .236 in 2010 to .302 in 2011.

Was his 4.16 ERA last year a product of bad luck?

Cahill is a ground-ball specialist, ranking first among AL starters in ground ball rate over the last two seasons (56.4 percent).

Last season, he struggled to locate his signature sinker down in the zone, especially against righties.

Only one-third of his sinkers thrown to right-handed hitters in 2011 were located in the lower-third of the strike zone or below the knees, compared to 43 percent in 2010.

The effectiveness of the pitch was much worse last season compared to the previous year, as noted in the chart on the right.

Cahill continued to challenge hitters with his sinker in 2011 despite its ineffectiveness, throwing it more than 50 percent of the time compared to less than 40 percent in 2010.

Cahill recorded double-digit ground outs in just two of his 14 starts in the second half, after doing so in half of his 20 starts before the break.

The heat map at the top of this piece shows the difference in the effectiveness of Cahill’s sinker in each of the last two seasons.
--Katie Sharp

Angels sign C.J. Wilson
Wilson pitched like an ace last year, with the fourth-highest WAR and seventh-best ERA among AL pitchers.

There is a thought that in 2012 Wilson could post even better numbers than he did in 2011, when his ERA ranked seventh-best.

He’ll be moving from the hitter-friendly Rangers Ballpark to Angel Stadium, which last year reduced run-scoring by an AL-high 16 percent according to ESPN.com’s Park Factors.

However, Wilson must now face the Texas Rangers lineup likely four or five times in 2012. The Rangers ranked among the AL’s top three in batting average, slugging percentage, runs and OPS.

Last year, just four of his 34 starts came against the Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers, which ranked first, second and fourth, respectively in OPS in the league.

Via Baseball Prospectus, the opposing hitters that Wilson faced had a combined .728 OPS, lowest among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings last season.

Wilson could be replacing his six starts against the Angels with six against the Rangers. He had a solid 2.65 ERA against his current team last season, but will be challenged to repeat that against Texas in 2012.

Last season 17 pitchers made at least three starts against the Rangers. Only four of them posted an ERA below four, led by Cahill’s 3.10 in six starts.
--Katie Sharp

Brewers sign SS Alex Gonzalez
The Milwaukee Brewers signed Gonzalez to replace Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop.

It's an even move offensively; Gonzalez has a career on-base percentage of .291 and slugging percentage of .399. Betancourt’s career numbers are .292 and .391, respectively.

But over the past two seasons -- according to Baseball Info Solutions’ stat Defensive Runs Saved -- Gonzalez has saved his teams 31 runs. Betancourt has cost his team 27.

If we use the sabermetric value of 10 runs equaling a win, that means Gonzalez has been worth nearly six more wins than Betancourt over the past two seasons with his glove alone.

That’s a big upgrade for a team that had its share of defensive issues during the postseason after finishing 11th in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved in 2011.
-- John Fisher

The Hot Stove heated up this week with our first major free-agent signing of the winter, when the Phillies agreed to a four-year, $50 million deal with Jonathan Papelbon (pending a physical). We covered that signing in detail on Friday.

Here's a closer look at some other notable transactions from the past week, including a potentially significant trade and a few under-the-radar signings.

Jonathan Sanchez Traded by Giants to Royals for Melky Cabrera
This was a classic trade where both teams dealt from a strength while looking to improve a weakness. The San Francisco Giants last year had the second-best ERA and the fourth-worst OPS in the majors, while the Kansas City Royals had the fourth-worst ERA and seventh-best OPS.

In Sanchez, the Royals receive a hard-throwing left-hander who has the third-highest strikeout rate since 2008 (minimum, 500 innings pitched). He also struggles with his command, never averaging fewer than four walks per nine innings in a season, including last year’s league-high rate of 5.9.

One concern for the Royals is Sanchez’s diminishing strikeout rate and fastball velocity over the past three seasons. Last year, when Sanchez missed more than a month with a biceps injury, his fastball averaged below 90 mph for the first time in his career.

Sanchez should help a Royals rotation that struck out just 621 batters, fifth-fewest in the majors last year. But he’ll need to improve his efficiency if he is going to make an impact on a Royals rotation that ranked 24th in innings pitched. His average of 5.3 innings per start was second-worst in the majors (minimum, 100 innings).

The Giants hope that Cabrera, who had a breakout season with 18 homers and a .305 batting average in 2011, can help improve an offense that scored the second-fewest runs in the majors last year.

Cabrera's career-best numbers were partly fueled by a .332 BABIP that was well above his career mark of .299. Cabrera also posted the lowest walk rate (5.0 percent) and highest strikeout rate (13.3 percent) of his career.

Pirates Sign Rod Barajas
The Pittsburgh Pirates inked Barajas to a one-year, $4 million deal following his 16-homer season with the Dodgers. Barajas will bring some much-needed power behind the plate to the Pirates. Since 2004, only three catchers have hit more homers than Barajas’ 111.

Pirates catchers hit just 13 homers (23rd in MLB) and had a .382 slugging percentage last year (18th in MLB). The last Pirates catcher to hit more than 15 homers in a season was Jim Pagliaroni, who had 17 in 1965.

Diamondbacks Sign Willie Bloomquist
Twins Agree to Terms with Jamey Carroll
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Bloomquist to a two-year, $3.8 million contract. On a positive note, Bloomquist is a versatile defender, having played at least 100 innings at every position except catcher in his 10-season career.

But he is also the definition of a replacement-level player. Bloomquist has never posted a season with a WAR of at least 1.0. His career OPS of .654 is the ninth-worst among active players (min. 2,000 PA), and his .073 Isolated Power is seventh-worst.

The Minnesota Twins also found a utility man to their liking with the addition of Jamey Carroll, who has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal. The Twins had a rough go last season at second base and shortstop. The metric Defensive Runs Saved, which measures a middle infielder's ability to turn batted balls into outs and turn double plays, showed that Twins middle infielders went from saving the team 27 runs in 2010 to costing them 39 runs in 2011.

Though Carroll contributed positive value defensively at second base as recently as 2009, last season was his worst in that regard. Carroll's defense was viewed by that metric as costing his team 14 runs.

The Hot Stove season kicked off last week as free agency officially began when the clock struck midnight on Thursday. Let’s take a look at a few notable transactions from the past few days.

Derek Lowe Traded to Indians
The Indians made the first trade of the 2011-12 offseason, acquiring the sinkerballer Lowe from the Atlanta Braves for minor-leaguer Chris Jones. The Braves also agreed to pay two-thirds of Lowe’s $15 million salary for 2012.

With the addition of Lowe, the Indians continue to build a groundball-heavy staff. Three of the Indians starters from 2011 ranked among the top 20 in the AL among starting pitchers in groundball rate. Lowe, who induced grounders 60 percent of the time, topped them all with the Braves last season.

Lowe struggled last year, losing a career-high 17 games and posting a 5.05 ERA, fifth-highest among major-league qualifying pitchers. However, there is reason for Cleveland fans to be optimistic that Lowe may be able to bounce back in 2012.

Lowe last year likely suffered from some bad luck. His .327 batting average on balls in play was well above his career mark of .295, and he stranded fewer than 60 percent of baserunners for just the second time in his career. If those numbers regress to his career norms, Lowe could easily see an improvement in his ERA next season.

Juan Rivera Signs with Dodgers
The Dodgers made the first splash in free agency with their signing of Rivera to a one-year, $4.5 million dollar contract.

It’s somewhat surprising that Rivera received that much money. His OPS of .710 since the start of 2010 is the fourth-lowest among first basemen and corner outfielders over the last two seasons (min. 900 PA).

John McDonald Signs with Diamondbacks
McDonald, who was traded to Arizona in August last year and started 15 games at shortstop with them, signed a two-year, $3 million deal with the Diamondbacks. McDonald brings little to the plate, with a .577 OPS last year that ranked 302nd out of 316 players with at least 240 PA.

McDonald, however, is a skilled defensive player who had nine Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop last year in just 264 innings. Only six shortstops saved more runs with their glove last year, and five of them played over 1,000 innings each.

Jim Thome Signs with Phillies
Thome will be returning to Philadelphia next year after signing a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Phillies. Thome hit 96 of his 604 career homers in three seasons with the Phillies, and the first two of those seasons were among the most productive of his career. Only one person hit more homers than Thome's 89 dingers in 2003 and 2004: Barry Bonds (90).

With Ryan Howard recovering from an achilles' injury he suffered on the final play of the Phillies season, the team could need an adequate fill-in at first base for part of 2012.

While Thome hasn't played first base since 2007, his bat compares favorably to Howard's. Over the last two seasons, Thome's .939 OPS is seventh-best among players with at least 500 PA, while Howard's .847 ranks 35th.

The Milwaukee Brewers entered Friday’s winner-take-all game just 1-5 when in position to clinch a postseason series. They did not let history dictate their future overcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings.

The last time the Brewers won a postseason series was October 10, 1982. Nyjer Morgan, who had the game-winning RBI Friday, was two years old. His RBI single in the 10th inning was the first walk-off hit by a Brewer in a postseason game. Morgan is the 11th player with a walk-off hit in a winner-take-all game and first to do it since Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

Another key storyline was the play of battery-mates Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Lucroy. Gallardo allowed one earned run in six innings to move his career ERA versus the Diamondbacks to 1.23. That’s the lowest of any pitcher against the Diamondbacks in the history of their franchise (regular season and postseason).

Although Gallardo didn’t have the high strikeout total he did in his previous four starts (45 K), he was able to utilize his fastball and curveball enough to get the job done. Gallardo's fastball averaged 93.5 MPH, which was tied for his highest in a start this season. He used his curveball more than usual as he threw it 27 percent of the time in Game 5 compared to 20 percent in Game 1. It proved to be an effective pitch as 23 of his 30 curveballs were down in the zone and hitters were just 1 for 8 with two strikeouts in at-bats ending in curveballs.

Lucroy helped his pitcher, especially when receiving the curveball, recording 10 catcher blocks according to Baseball Info Solutions data. That's tied for his eighth-most in a game this season. Not an unusual stat as Lucroy ranked second among MLB catchers in blocks during the regular season.

The Diamondbacks failed to become the first National League team to come back from a 2-0 division series deficit. They lose two straight starts made by Ian Kennedy for the first time since June 27 to July 3. Overall, the team scored only seven runs in three games in Milwaukee, all losses. That's compared to 18 in their two wins in Arizona. They have now lost seven of their last nine postseason games.

Did you know:
The Brewers and Detroit Tigers (who advanced Thursday) are the first two teams ever to win a postseason series 3-2, where the score in the deciding game was also 3-2.

The first of two National League Division Series Game 5s begins in Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Brewers host the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks are the first team in the wild-card era (since 1994) to take an NLDS to a fifth game after trailing 2-0 in the series (the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers did it following a strike-shortened regular season).

Divisional Series History
Arizona is 1-0 all time in LDS Game 5s, with the win coming in 2001 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Diamondbacks have won back-to-back games following a six-game postseason losing skid.

Milwaukee is 0-1 in LDS Game 5s, with its loss coming in 1981 to the New York Yankees. The Brewers, who went an MLB-best 57-24 at home this season, have won eight of their last 10 postseason home games.

On the Mound
Ian Kennedy will take the ball for Arizona. Kennedy went 6 2/3 innings while allowing four earned runs in Game 1 of this series, his only career postseason start. Arizona is 14-2 in Kennedy’s last 16 starts going back to the regular season

For Milwaukee, Yovani Gallardo will make his third career postseason start. He’s 1-1 with a 0.60 ERA in his first three career postseason appearances (one earned run allowed in 12 innings in two starts). Including the postseason, Gallardo is 6-0 with a 1.18 ERA in six career starts against Arizona.

Player to Watch
Friday could be the final game for Prince Fielder with the Brewers, as he will be a free agent at season’s end. Fielder ranks either first or second in Brewers history in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs and intentional walks.

Notable Prince Fielder Moments
Sept. 25, 2007 -- Fielder reaches 50 home runs for the first time in his career in a win over the Cardinals.

July 13, 2009 -- Fielder wins the Home Run Derby, defeating Nelson Cruz 6-5 in the final round.

Sept. 6, 2009 -- Fielder hits a game-winning home run to beat the San Francisco Giants, and upon landing on home plate, his teammates topple over onto the dirt.

May 20, 2011 -- Fielder hits a two-run, game-winning home run in the 14th inning, giving the Brewers a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. The Brewers were 21-23 entering the day. They would finish the season as NL champs, with this game serving as one of the key sparks to the season.

July 12, 2011 -- Fielder’s three-run home run helps the National League defeat the American League 5-1 in the All-Star Game. Fielder is named the All-Star Game MVP

Sept. 27, 2011 -- Fielder hits three home runs in a game for the first time in his career.

The Milwaukee Brewers won the first two games at home, but the National League Divisional Series moves to Phoenix Tuesday night. This is the first time in franchise history that the Brewers have taken a 2-0 series lead. In four previous postseason series, the Brewers are just 1-4 with the chance to win a series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks send Josh Collmenter to the mound in an effort to extend the series. The righty faced the Brewers twice during the regular season without allowing a run or an extra-base hit in 14 innings.

The key for Collmenter will be shutting down Ryan Braun, who is 6-for-8 with three extra-base hits in the NLDS. During the regular season, Braun was hitless in six at-bats against Collmenter.

The Brewers counter with Shaun Marcum, who is also making his first postseason start. Marcum struggled down the stretch, with a 1-2 record and 6.66 ERA in his last four regular-season starts.

Miguel Montero is hitless so far in the NLDS, but is the only active Diamondback hitter with a home run off of Marcum. Justin Upton is 2-for-6 against the righty, but has also struck out three times.

The Brewers have struggled on the road during their previous postseason appearances. They have lost the last five games outside Milwaukee while allowing over a run a game more in playoff games away from home.

Since sweeping the Cubs in the 2007 NLDS, Arizona has dropped six straight postseason games. Returning to the desert could provide some relief, as the Diamondbacks are 9-6 in home playoff games.

Three games in action on the diamond Sunday, with plenty to digest. Here's the Stats & Info roundup on the Sunday that was:

Tigers 5, Yankees 3 (series tied 1-1)
Detroit starter Max Scherzer became the third pitcher to throw at least six scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits or fewer, in a postseason game against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (other two are Warren Spahn and Cliff Lee).

Miguel Cabrera became the first Tigers player with three hits and three RBI in a postseason game since Kirk Gibson in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series.

Cabrera is the fifth player in Tigers history with such a game, joining Hank Greenberg (twice), Al Kaline, Alan Trammell (twice) and Gibson.

Looking ahead: The last eight times the Yankees have played in a division series, their Game 2 result matched the series result.

Brewers 9, Diamondbacks 4 (Brewers lead series 2-0)
Milwaukee won Game 2 of a postseason series for the first time in five tries. Their 9 runs tied the second-most they'd ever scored in a postseason game. It also tied the second-most runs allowed by the Diamondbacks in a postseason game.

Brewers pitchers struck out a team postseason-record 13, surpassing the mark of 11 set in Game 3 of the 1982 ALCS against the Angels.

The Brewers bullpen, which had a 1.14 ERA in September, pitched four scoreless innings of relief. They've thrown five scoreless innings this series.

Looking ahead: While the Brewers are now 8-4 at home in postseason history, they're just 3-8 on the road.

Cardinals 5, Phillies 4 (series tied 1-1)
The Cardinals bullpen allowed no runs and one hit in six innings of relief. It's the second time in team history the Cardinals came back from four or more runs down to win a postseason game. The other such rally came in Game 3 of the 1987 NLCS against the Giants, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

It's the second time in Phillies history they blew a lead of four or more runs in a postseason game, with the other coming in Game 4 of the 1993 World Series against the Blue Jays, also according to Elias.

Albert Pujols hit the go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning, his third such RBI in the seventh inning or later of a postseason game. His three go-ahead hits in the seventh or later are the most by a Cardinals player in the postseason.

Cliff Lee lost his third straight postseason decision (started out 7-0), allowing five runs. His four earned runs allowed matched the number he'd allowed in 32 1/3 LDS innings prior to Sunday.

Lee is the first NL pitcher to allow at least five runs and 12 hits in a postseason game since Slim Sallee of the 1917 Giants.

Of note: With this series being even, there are three League Division Series even for the first time since 2003.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers kick off the National League Divisional Series on Saturday at 2:07 ET. It's a matchup of two teams that played nearly even against each other during the regular season.

Inside the Series
Arizona won the regular-season series, 4-3, but the teams finished identical in nearly every offensive category.

In their head-to-head matchup, they scored exactly 28 runs apiece, hitting nearly the same amount of home runs with eerily similar batting profiles.

Miguel Montero starred for Arizona, batting .421 (8-for-19) with two home runs against Milwaukee. For the Brewers, Ryan Braun batted .417 (5-for-12) with a pair of home runs in just three games against Arizona.

On the Mound
Yovani Gallardo gets the Game 1 call for the Brewers. The five-year veteran enters the postseason coming off a stretch where he struck out at least 10 batters in each of his final three starts (36 total). He became the first Brewers pitcher with double-digit strikeouts in three straight starts.

Gallardo finished with more than 200 strikeouts for the third straight season, the only pitcher in Brewers history with three 200-strikeout seasons.

Opposite Gallardo will be NL Cy Young Award candidate Ian Kennedy. Kennedy won 21 games during the regular season, tied for fifth-most in Diamondbacks history.

Kennedy was particularly locked in after the All-Star Break, posting a 12-1 mark with a 2.11 ERA and strikeout rate of 8.8 per nine innings pitched. His ERA after the break was more than a run better than before it (3.44 ERA before the All-Star Break).

Good When It’s Close
Arizona-Milwaukee pits two of the best teams in baseball in one-run games.

The Diamondbacks finished an MLB-best 28-16 in one-run games. Last year they were just 19-23 in one-run games, sixth-worst in MLB.

Much of the credit is owed to Arizona’s improved bullpen. They posted a 3.71 ERA and converted 82 percent of their save opportunities, second-best in NL.

It’s a major turnaround from their 5.74 bullpen ERA in 2010, the worst by an NL bullpen since the end of World War II.

The Brewers didn’t finish too far behind, however, posting a 30-18 record in one-run games (second-best in MLB).

Brewers closer John Axford anchored the Milwaukee bullpen, finishing the season with a franchise-record and NL-best 46 saves.

After blowing two saves in the first seven games, he converted his final 43 save opportunities of the season.

Fighting History
The Diamondbacks are the fifth team in MLB history to make the playoffs after dropping at least 96 games the previous season.

But such rebounds have yet to yield a World Series champion. Two teams, the 1991 Atlanta Braves and 2008 Tampa Bay Rays fell short in the World Series. The other two, the 1999 Diamondbacks and 2007 Chicago Cubs, were eliminated in the NLDS.

They've only been around since 1998, but the Arizona Diamondbacks already have five division titles under their belt. Number five came Friday when they beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1. Arizona's last division title came in 2007 when they got as far as the NLCS before the Colorado Rockies swept them.

The Diamondbacks were 65-97 (.401) in 2010 posting the third-worst win percentage in all of baseball. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Arizona tied the major-league record for most losses in the previous season by a team that finished in first place. Two other teams won division titles coming off 65-97 records the previous year: the 1991 Braves (who lost in the World Series) and the 1999 Diamondbacks (who were defeated in the N.L. Division Series).

Kirk Gibson joined former manager Bob Brenly as the only Diamondbacks' managers to win a division title in their first FULL season as an MLB manager. Brenly's 2001 team went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees. Buck Showalter and Bob Melvin also won division titles with the Diamondbacks.