Milwaukee came into this series playing well. The Brewers swept the Reds 3 out of 4 at home last week before getting clipped 7-2 in the finale, then made the trip west. At 53-32, they're one of the better teams in the NL and playing like it. Arizona is at exactly .500 at 43-43, and while the offense has been serviceable, the Diamondbacks have been doing heavy rotation triage all season. They went 2-2 in their last homestand against the Giants before dropping the finale, and they dropped 2 of 3 to Tampa Bay on the road before that. Nothing about their recent schedule says momentum.
- 10-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge (LF) — Lockridge's timeline for a return has been pushed back to late July after imaging showed a chondral flap in his right patella, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.06/23
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodriguez (RP) — Rodriguez (shoulder) struck out a batter and allowed three earned runs on two hits and one walk across 1.1 innings Wednesday in a rehab start for the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiiate.07/02
- 15-Day-ILLogan Henderson (SP) — Henderson (back) will make his next minor-league rehab start Friday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
- 15-Day-ILRob Zastryzny (RP) — Zastryzny (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
- 15-Day-ILDL Hall (RP) — Hall (pectoral) has progressed to throwing on flat ground from 60-to-75 feet, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
- 15-Day-ILColeman Crow (SP) — Crow (forearm) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
- 60-Day-ILQuinn Priester (SP) — Priester will undergo thoracic outlet compression surgery on Monday and is expected to be sidelined 8-to-10 months, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.06/18
- 60-Day-ILBrian Fitzpatrick (RP) — Fitzpatrick (elbow) has been diagnosed with a left UCL strain and will get a second opinion to determine if he needs Tommy John surgery, MLB.com reports.06/09
- 60-Day-ILAngel Zerpa (RP) — The Brewers transferred Zerpa (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Sunday.05/31
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann (C) — McCann (quadriceps) will begin a rehab assignment Thursday, MLB.com reports.07/02
- 10-Day-ILJordan Lawlar (LF) — Manager Torey Lovullo said June 20 that Lawlar will receive further imaging on his strained right hamstring during the All-Star break to gauge his healing, Steve Gilbert MLB.com reports.06/30
- 15-Day-ILMichael Soroka (SP) — Soroka (glute) is expected to begin throwing bullpen sessions twice weekly starting Tuesday, MLB.com reports.06/27
- 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes (SP) — Burnes (elbow) is expected to be re-evaluated during the first or second week of July, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.06/29
- 60-Day-ILRyne Nelson (SP) — The Diamondbacks transferred Nelson (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.06/25
- 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk (RP) — Arizona is shutting down Puk (elbow) for another four weeks due to a capsule strain and he will also undergo another MRI in four weeks, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.06/19
- 60-Day-ILCristian Mena (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Monday that Mena underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.06/01
- 60-Day-ILBlake Walston (SP) — Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.06/01
- 60-Day-ILJustin Martinez (RP) — Martinez (elbow) tossed a bullpen session Friday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.05/09
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Saalfrank (RP) — Saalfrank (shoulder) said Wednesday that he expects to be sidelined 10-16 months, Arizona Sports reports.05/08
The reason Cabrera is starting Friday is sitting right there in the Arizona injury report. Corbin Burnes — the ace brought in to anchor this rotation — is on the 60-day IL after an elbow setback and won't be re-evaluated until early July at the earliest. Ryne Nelson is also gone for a while. Michael Soroka just went on the 15-day IL with a glute issue. The Diamondbacks have a reliever on the 60-day IL named Cristian Mena who had shoulder surgery and is done for the year. That's a lot of arms to replace. On Milwaukee's end, the bullpen is also banged up — Carlos Rodriguez, DL Hall, Rob Zastryzny, Angel Zerpa, and Brian Fitzpatrick are all unavailable — but with Harrison in line to go deep into this one, the pen situation is a secondary concern at best.