Los Angeles @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2011 ) LA Dodgers 1, Milwaukee 2

THE STORY: Red-hot Milwaukee takes aim at its sixth consecutive victory and 19th in its last 21 games when it hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. The Brewers, who now lead the National League Central by seven games over St. Louis, won in dramatic fashion again on Tuesday, eking out a 2-1 triumph on a bases-loaded single by pinch hitter Mark Kotsay in the bottom of the ninth inning. Milwaukee pitchers have given up just four runs over the last five games.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, KCAL (Los Angeles), Fox Sports (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Nate Eovaldi (1-0, 1.64) vs. Brewers RH Zack Greinke (11-4, 4.08)

Eovaldi has been impressive thus far in his two major league starts, striking out 10 and allowing just six hits in 11 innings of work. He pitched six shutout innings against Houston on August 12, giving up two hits. Control is still a minor concern — Eovaldi walked four Astros and has handed out six free passes overall — and the 21-year-old is being kept on a tight leash late in the season, so it's unlikely that he would work beyond the sixth inning Wednesday regardless of how well he performs.

Since a pair of rough starts just before the All-Star break, Greinke has been on a tear, going 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA in his last six starts and winning his last four times out. He pitched 7 2/3 innings, his deepest outing of the year, against Pittsburgh on August 12, striking out nine while yielding two runs on six hits. Greinke has just one lifetime start against the Dodgers, a no-decision back in 2005 (5 IP, 3 ER). Los Angeles 3B Casey Blake is 8-for-25 (.320) against Greinke with two doubles and a pair of home runs.

ABOUT THE DODGERS (55-66): Despite an MVP-quality season from CF Matt Kemp, who ranks among the National League leaders in batting average (.320), home runs (28) and RBIs (89), Los Angeles has floundered offensively, ranking 28th in the major leagues with just 442 runs scored. The Dodgers have been shut out 11 times in 2011 and held to one run on 24 other occasions. Starting pitching has been a strength, with LHP Clayton Kershaw (14-5, 2.72) still in the hunt for NL Cy Young honors.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (72-51): Milwaukee has leaned on a significant home-field advantage while pulling away from the NL Central pack — the Brewers are 46-15 at Miller Park, easily the best home mark in baseball, and the team sports a 13-1 mark there since the All-Star break. The lineup boasts a pair of NL MVP candidates in LF Ryan Braun (.329, 23 HR, 78 RBIs) and 1B Prince Fielder (.305, 27 HR, 89 RBIs), but Milwaukee has gotten increased production from others in recent weeks, with seven different players having driven in at least 43 runs.

FINAL PITCH: The Brewers are on pace to finish the season with a 61-20 home record, which would make them the first team since the 1998 New York Yankees (62-19) to win more than 57 home games in a season.