Milwaukee @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 2, 2010 ) Milwaukee 7, Florida 4
In search of a starting pitcher - any pitcher, really - the Milwaukee Brewers are turning to an old friend.
Chris Capuano will make his return to the major leagues on Thursday when the Brewers close out a four-game series against the Florida Marlins.
Once a promising young left-hander for Milwaukee, Capuano has not pitched in the majors since September 2007 due to elbow problems that required the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
Capuano pitched over 440 innings for the Brewers between 2005 and 2006 but saw his career grind to a halt in 2007. After beating the Washington Nationals on May 17 of that season, Milwaukee went 0-22 when Capuano pitched, with the lefty amassing an 0-12 record with a 6.08 ERA over 18 starts and four relief appearances.
It has taken quite a long time, but Capuano finally has a chance to break that streak on Thursday.
Should the now 31-year-old Capuano stick in the rotation, it would allow the Brewers to move Manny Parra back to the bullpen for good, hopefully stabilizing a relief corps that has been atrocious this season.
Milwaukee grabbed a 7-4 win on Wednesday behind the one pitcher on the staff who has performed to expectations - right-hander Yovani Gallardo. The budding ace allowed two runs - one earned - and four hits in seven innings and then sweated it out with the rest of the club as Carlos Villanueva and John Axford allowed a run apiece in relief.
The Brewers rank 15th in the National League with a 5.38 team ERA. The bullpen alone owns a 6.50 ERA.
Florida leadoff hitter and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan has feasted on the Milwaukee staff over the first three games of the series. Coghlan, who had been in danger of losing his job to top prospect Mike Stanton due to a .217 batting average entering the series, has gone 8-for-14 with five runs scored and three RBIs against the Brewers.
The Marlins will send ace Josh Johnson to the mound on Thursday. The 26-year-old right-hander has been terrific all season but especially lately, allowing a total of one earned run over his last four starts.
Johnson was the tough-luck loser last Saturday, however, when he was matched up against Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay and the 20th perfect game in major league history. Johnson was charged with an unearned run in seven innings in the loss.
In his last nine starts overall, Johnson is 6-3 with a 1.50 ERA and a .184 batting average against. He has yet to suffer a loss in his career against Milwaukee, owning a 2-0 mark with a 3.55 ERA in four starts.