Return of the King or Double Debut Doozy

Couple of big stories today as the Dodgers seek to even the series at one game a piece. Dodger center fielder Matt Kemp will try not to hold down the Dodger offense when he returns today, and Nathan Eovaldi will be making his 2012 major league debut in place of the injured Ted Lilly. Eric will have more on both of those activations in a few hours.

Eovaldi will not be the only pitcher making his debut, as the Brewers recalled Michael Fiers to take the rubber for them. Fiers got his feet wet in 2011, but tonight will be his first 2012 appearance. Here is the BaseballHQ scouting report on Fiers:

Michael Fiers (RHP, MIL)
His numbers in the minors have been stellar—2.80 ERA, 2.4 Ctl, 9.6 Dom—but he doesn’t have overpowering or dominant stuff that projects well in the majors. Fiers thrives with a very deceptive delivery that keeps hitters off guard. His fastball only sits in the 88-92 mph range, but he locates it with precision down in the strike zone. He rounds out his deep arsenal with a fringy curveball, slider, and solid-average change-up. Fiers possesses well above average control and consistently gets ahead in the count.
STATS: Nashville (AAA) – 10 gs, 1-3 4.42 ERA, 55 IP, 2.7 Cmd, 2.9 Ctl, 8.0 Dom, 6 HR, .243 oppBA
CURRENT ROLE: Starter
POTENTIAL: #4 starter

Besides the injuries one of the reasons for the Brewers struggling can be found at second base. Richie Weeks has had slumps before but I doubt if he's ever had a slump of this magnitude. If you have been listening to Vin Scully you know that Weeks has been having trouble making contact (62 K's) but did you know just how bad it has been for Weeks?

                                                        
Player             OPS+  PA HR BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
Emmanuel Burriss     45 116  0  9 18 .212 .278 .221 .499
Rickie Weeks         59 200  5 29 62 .156 .290 .293 .583
Marco Scutaro        62 198  1 13 13 .247 .305 .324 .629
Orlando Hudson       63 131  1  8 27 .211 .260 .317 .577
Freddy Galvis        73 173  3  6 25 .236 .263 .382 .645
Danny Espinosa       78 194  5 19 59 .213 .302 .349 .651
Neil Walker          85 185  2 14 34 .263 .315 .347 .663
Darwin Barney        90 175  2 10 20 .259 .306 .389 .695
Daniel Descalso      93 101  2 10 24 .227 .320 .386 .706
Brandon Phillips     99 173  5 13 23 .272 .326 .418 .743
Aaron Hill          102 191  5 18 29 .263 .340 .415 .756
Daniel Murphy       102 202  0 16 25 .297 .351 .368 .719
Mark Ellis          106 154  2 18 18 .273 .373 .364 .736
Tyler Greene        108 113  4 10 29 .235 .310 .461 .771
Jose Altuve         120 206  3 13 26 .302 .351 .455 .806
Dan Uggla           121 215  7 32 56 .260 .372 .436 .809
Omar Infante        133 165  6  7 19 .321 .352 .532 .884

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/29/2012.

Three second baseman lead the National League in strikeouts. Weeks (62), Espinosa(59), and Uggla(56). Yet those three have combined for only 17 home runs. You'd think you'd get more bang for your buck when you whiff amuck.

Dodger Notes:

RBI MACHINE: Andre Ethier went 2-for-4 and gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his two-out RBI double, driving in his National League-leading 42^nd run of the season. Ethier has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, batting .375 (12-for-32) with three runs scored, three doubles, a home run and six RBI since May 29.

FUN BOBBY: Bobby Abreu went 2-for-4 with run scored and a stolen base, raising his average to .339 (20-for-59) in 22 games with Los Angeles. Abreu has also drawn 12 walks as a Dodger and has posted a .451 on-base percentage with the club.

MAKE IT 11: Javy Guerra relieved Aaron Harang in the sixth and retired all three batters he faced for his 11^th consecutive scoreless appearance (11.0 IP).

Also be sure to check out this recap of the incredible Angel game last night. You might have heard of the writer.