D-backs look to sweep Brewers, improve playoff position

The visiting Arizona Diamondbacks will turn to left-hander Jordan Montgomery as they look to complete a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon.

Montgomery (8-7, 6.23 ERA) will oppose right-hander Frankie Montas (7-11, 4.50).

The Diamondbacks notched their third win of the series with a 5-0 decision on Saturday night. Joc Pederson and Ketel Marte each had a two-run homer, and Merrill Kelly threw five innings of two-hit ball before leaving with what the team described as a right calf cramp.

"We're a good team, and we're peaking at the right time," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "We can simplify the game when we need to, we can slow it down when we need to. We can execute at a high level, we can ramp up. It's a very dynamic team."

Arizona (87-68) remained two games behind the San Diego Padres in the hunt for the top wild-card spot in the National League. The Diamondbacks are a game ahead of the third-place New York Mets, who posted a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

Montgomery will make his second consecutive start after three relief appearances. In his last start on Tuesday, he allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings of an 8-2 loss at the Colorado Rockies.

Montgomery is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in September, allowing 10 earned runs on 15 hits in 13 1/3 innings. He is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in five career starts vs. Milwaukee.

In the first three games of the series, Marte is hitting .600 (6-for-10) with two homers, a double, five RBIs and five walks.

The Brewers are the only team in the majors this season without a four-game losing streak. They have been held to two runs or less in four of their last five games.

Milwaukee (88-67) has lost three straight since clinching the NL Central on Wednesday. The Brewers reside four games behind the Dodgers and Phillies for the best overall record in the National League. The top two teams will get a first-round bye in the playoffs.

"Believe me, if you felt my guts right now, it's the same as any other loss, but they know the reality that we'd have a mountain to climb to catch four games to be in a bye series," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "I don't know if that's best for us or not, but the bottom line is we're going to have to start recapturing the stuff that made us great."

Montas is 3-3 with a 3.55 ERA in nine starts with the Brewers since being acquired from Cincinnati in late July. In his most recent outing, he allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings, taking the loss in a 5-1 defeat to the Phillies on Tuesday.

Montas is 1-2 with a 7.24 ERA in three career starts against Arizona, including a 6-2 loss on May 7 when he was still with Cincinnati.

--Field Level Media