The Arizona Diamondbacks may have kissed the ground when they got off their flight from Miami to Phoenix last night. They did just complete a 2-7 road trip, after blowing a late 2-run lead yesterday to the Marlins. It’s not news that the Diamondbacks are struggling offensively, but they are pretty decent with the bats at the friendly confines of Chase Field. The Diamondbacks are the worst road hitting team in baseball, posting a paltry .216 average, 23 points worse than the team ranked 29th, the Detroit Tigers. But at home, the D-Backs are respectable, hitting .277 as a team. They’ve already experienced an offensive blackout in Milwaukee this year, when they scored 5 runs in a 3-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers earlier this month. It’ll be interesting to see if the change of scenery will warm the D-Backs’ bats. Here’s a closer look at both teams…

Milwaukee Brewers (44-37, 3rd place in NL Central, 4.5 games behind Chicago Cubs)

Manager: Ned Yost (6th year with Brewers, 418-472)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Corey Hart, .292

Runs: Rickie Weeks, 47

Hits: Ryan Braun, 94

HR: Ryan Braun, 20

RBI: Ryan Braun, 58

SB: Rickie Weeks, 11

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Ben Sheets, 111 1/3

Wins: Ben Sheets, 9

ERA: Ben Sheets, 2.83

Saves: Salomon Torres, 13

Bottom Line: The Brewers, for the last 2 seasons, have been everybody’s sexy pick to win the NL Central, or at least land a Wildcard berth. The Brewers currently are in 3rd place in the very tough NL Central, but they trail only the Cardinals in the Wildcard pecking order. Ryan Braun has picked up where he left off a year ago, when he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Braun leads the Brewers in home runs and RBI, while hitting a respectable .287. And manager Ned Yost has been able to hide Braun’s questionable glove in left field this year, after Braun comitted 26 errors at third base last season. He has yet to commit an error in left in ‘08. The Brewers really could start to make a push in the standings if Prince Fielder heats up. The world’s heftiest vegetarian has 16 home runs and 42 RBI, while hitting .271.

The oft-injured Ben Sheets is having a spectacular year for the Brew Crew, going 9-2 with a 2.83 ERA. Through the first half of the season, Sheets is a legitimate Cy Young candidate. The good news is, for the second time this year, the Diamondbacks won’t have to face Sheets. He took a 5-0 loss to red-hot Minnesota on Sunday. In the bullpen, Salomon Torres has been a God-send for Milwaukee. Eric Gagne struggled as the Brewers’ closer, with a 6.98 ERA, before going on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right rotator cuff on May 21. Torres has converted 13 of 15 save opportunities, while posting a 2.62 ERA. Torres picked up a save against the Diamondbacks on June 2.

Milwaukee’s Pitchers vs. Arizona

Tonight: Dave Bush (2008: 4-7, 4.94 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 4-0, 3.55 ERA)

Tuesday: Jeff Suppan (2008: 4-6, 4.05 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 2-3, 3.86 ERA)

Wednesday: Seth McClung (2008: 5-3, 4.25 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 1-0, 4.05 ERA)

Thursday: Manny Parra (2008: 8-2, 3.95 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 1-0, 1.29 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (41-41, 1st place in NL West, 2.5 games ahead of Los Angeles)

Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 284-283)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Conor Jackson, .309

Runs: Mark Reynolds, 54

Hits: Orlando Hudson, 81

HR: Mark Reynolds, 16

RBI: Mark Reynolds, 49

SB: Conor Jackson, 6

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Brandon Webb 112

Wins: Brandon Webb 12

ERA: Dan Haren, 2.85

Saves: Brandon Lyon 16

Bottom Line: Its getting to be about that time of the season, where people are wondering what the Diamondbacks are going to do to kick-start a dormant offense. The trade deadline is a little more than a month away. Do the D-Backs play “rent-a-slugger” with someone like Adam Dunn? Do they call up someone from Triple-A, like Sidewinders’ third baseman Jamie D’Antona, who is hitting .383? Or do they cross their fingers and hope someone gets hot? Mark Reynolds and Chris Young have showed the propensity in the past to carry a team offensively, and Eric Byrnes could be thrown into that category as well. But since returning from the DL, Byrnes .091 (2 for 22) with 6 strikeouts, 0 runs scored, and 0 RBI.

Arizona’s pitchers vs. Milwaukee:

Tonight: Doug Davis (2008: 2-3, 3.68 ERA; career vs. Brewers: 0-1, 5.79 ERA)

Tuesday: Randy Johnson (2008: 4-6, 4.94 ERA; career vs. Brewers: 18-8, 3.46 ERA)

Wednesday: Micah Owings (2008: 6-7, 5.18 ERA; career vs. Brewers: 0-2, 8.00 ERA)

Thursday: Brandon Webb (2008: 12-4, 3.21 ERA; career vs. Brewers: 2-1, 2.66 ERA)

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