MILWAUKEE — Lorenzo Cain plans to be back in the lineup Sunday afternoon when the Milwaukee Brewers wrap up a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park Womens Lamar Jackson Jersey ,
Cain had been on the disabled list with a sore groin since June 26 and was eligible to return Wednesday, but the final step of his recovery took slightly longer than expected. He went through a full workout Saturday afternoon at Miller Park and after getting through it without issue declared himself ready to go.
“I’ll be playing tomorrow,” Cain told reporters as he walked off the field after his workout.
Since signing a four-year, $80 million contract with Milwaukee in January, Cain has been a force in the batter’s box and in center field. He was slashing .291/.394/.438 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 72 games for the Brewers, numbers that make him a leading candidate for a spot when All-Star rosters are announced Sunday evening.
The 32-year-old has made an All-Star team once in his career — in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell said the chance of Cain landing a spot on the National League roster had no bearing on his return timeline.
“The all-star game is a separate entity,” Counsell said. “He feels really comfortable right now and is doing really good. If everything turns out well today, then we’re set for tomorrow and the next day.”
Reinstating Cain will require another roster move for the Brewers. The team has managed its roster on a nearly daily basis this season, shuttling fresh arms and hot bats back and forth between Milwaukee and Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Part of it, naturally, has been based on need, but part of it is also an attempt to create the strongest roster possible on any given day.
“Our point of doing it is just to kind of optimize our roster every day, ” Counsell said. “You go into a game with kind of a forecast of the game a little bit. If you need the pitching, you have to have the pitching. But if you don’t need the pitching, you have to have the position player. You have to let the previous games dictate it for you and tell you what’s going to happen.”
Junior Guerra (5-5, 2.87 ERA) was part of that shuffle already this season. He opened the year with Colorado Springs and was brought back to Milwaukee when the need arose. The right-hander hasn’t let up since and takes the mound Sunday afternoon looking for a victory in a third consecutive start.
Guerra threw five shutout innings in a no-decision in his only appearance versus Atlanta in 2016.
The Braves counter with left-hander Sean Newcomb (8-3, 3.10), whose last outing was one he’d like to forget. Pitching through sweltering heat and humidity, Newcomb was tagged for five runs Youth Terrell Suggs Jersey , three hits and five walks while working 2 2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium.
“I guess it was one of those days,” Newcomb said. “It was definitely a hot one. I had to go out there and deal with the elements and a good lineup. I just didn’t have my best stuff.”
Newcomb was 7-1 with a 2.07 ERA in the 11 previous starts and will be looking to revert to that form Sunday when he faces Milwaukee for the first time in his career.
Robbie Ray looked like he was in All-Star form while making his first start in nearly two months.
Ray returned from the disabled list and pitched six scoreless innings to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Wednesday night.
”That was about as good as it could have been,” Ray said.
Ray (3-0) allowed two hits and issued two walks.
”I know there was one inning where his pitch count climbed, but aside from that I know it was vintage Robbie Ray,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
Ray struck out six while throwing 56 of his 83 pitches for strikes in his first game since April 29. Ray had been on the disabled list with a strained right oblique.
”He turns into a different animal the day that he is starting and I saw it throughout his entire outing so it’s good to have him back,” Lovullo said.
Ray has won a career-long nine consecutive decisions over his last 15 starts since Aug. 24, 2017.
Daniel Descalso homered and Deven Marrero knocked in a run for the Diamondbacks, who have won six of seven.
Brad Boxberger allowed Starlin Castro’s leadoff homer in the ninth and walked the ensuing batter before retiring the next three for his 19th save in 23 chances.
Wei-Yin Chen (2-5) allowed one run and five hits in six innings for the Marlins.
”I pitched well, but the pitcher on the other side pitched better than me,” Chen said through a translator. ”He was successful in putting down our offense.”
Miami was held to just three hits.
The Marlins threatened in the fourth when Ray issued walks to the first two batters, but he calmly retired the next three, including the final two on strikeouts.
”I’m pretty tough on myself so I just took a step off the mound and told myself that, `You’re better than this, you shouldn’t be walking these guys, make them put it in play like you have been, get back in the zone, and get your outs,”’ Ray said. ”And I was able to get my focus back and get out of it.”
Ketel Marte doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on Marrero’s base hit.
Descalso hit a pinch-hit home run to lead off the eighth off Adam Conley in a battle of lefties. It was his sixth career pinch-hit homer and his ninth home run of the season.
”I don’t care if it’s righty, lefty, my job is to go up there and get a hit Womens Luke Kuechly Jersey ,” Descalso said. ”I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good approach against lefties. Conley is a tough lefty, his numbers are really good, but he fell behind there 2-0 and I was looking for something over the middle and he left a fastball that I could handle pretty easily.”
Castro’s homer was his fifth of the season and second in as many days.
”He always gets his hits,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. ”We saw a little bit of power the last two nights. Hopefully, he can keep riding that.”
HIRANO TIES CLUB RECORD
Arizona’s Yoshihisa Hirano pitched one inning of relief and extended his scoreless game streak to 24, tying a club record set by J.J. Putz in 2012 and Brandon Lyon in 2008.
ANDERSON EXTENDS STREAK
Marlins rookie Brian Anderson walked in the fourth to extend his career-best, on-base streak to 24 games. That’s the longest active streak in the National League.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: C Alex Avila (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to June 24. ”He’s felt it for a while, but it was the game in Pittsburgh where it really jumped up on him and it became uncomfortable,” Lovullo said. … OF Steven Souza (pectoral) is 3 for 9 with a double and an RBI in two rehab assignment games with Single-A Visalia.
Marlins: C J.T. Realmuto (wrist) missed his third consecutive game. ”He took some swings, still a little sore,” Mattingly said. ”I talked to him before that if he’s feeling anything in there at all, I don’t want him swinging. That’s the one thing with hands and hitters, you start changing things and the next thing you know we’re going to be in an 0-for-20 (slump) or something, so we need to make sure he’s feeling like he can be himself. He was feeling it still at the finish of his swing. Better today than yesterday, but still not where we’re willing to take a chance.”
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke (7-5, 3.66 ERA) will start the fourth and final game of the series on Thursday. Greinke is 5-0 with a 1.77 ERA in five starts at Marlins Park.
Marlins: RHP Trevor Richards (2-4, 4.91) is coming off a win at Colorado in which he tossed six innings and allowed one run with eight strikeouts.