Tonight's Matchup: Brewers (Marcum) @ Dodgers (Harang)

It's a Memorial Day matchup in Los Angeles, and the Brewers are hoping that their luck will finally change.

Taking the mound to try and get things going in the right direction is Shaun Marcum (3.93 ERA, 3.78 FIP). He's looking to rebound from his worst start of the season tonight. On Tuesday against the Giants, he gave up six runs in six innings despite allowing a total of seven base runners in the game (five on hits, two on walks). Before that, Marcum had given up no more than three runs in any of his starts and had posted a quality start in six of those.

One problem Marcum has faced has been getting run support. The Brewers only average 3.4 runs during his starts, and have been shut out in two of his nine starts. The Brewers are 2-7 in games where Marcum starts in 2012, and their only two wins have come in games where the offense scored seven or more runs. Yovani Gallardo is the only other starter who has averaged less run support (3.39 runs per game), while every other starter's average run support is at least one run higher.

Shaun Marcum has made three career starts against the Dodgers. In his one start at Dodger Stadium in 2011, he pitched seven innings and allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. Only one current Dodger has faced Shaun Marcum ten times or more. Bobby Abreu has twenty plate appearances against him, posting a batting line of .263/.300/.316/.616 in those appearances.

On the Dodgers side, the Brewers face a familiar face in Aaron Harang (4.36 ERA, 3.61 FIP). This will be Harang's 23rd start against the Brewers in his eleven-year career, eight of those spent with the Cincinnati Reds. He has made one start against the Brewers in 2012, pitching six innings against them on April 19th. He allowed three runs, eight hits, and one walk in that start while striking out four.

Aaron Harang is mainly a fastball pitcher. His main pitches are a four-seam fastball (30.2%, 89.0 MPH) and a two-seam fastball (31.3%, 89.4 MPH). He also has a slider (25.4%, 81.7 MPH), and occassionally mixes in a changeup (4.9%, 81.7 MPH) and a curveball (6.8%, 72.6 MPH).

Over his career, Harang has posted a 4.38 ERA against the Brewers and allowed a .298/.338/.485/.823 batting line. Six Brewers have faced Aaron Harang ten times or more.

Aramis Ramirez is back in the lineup tonight. George Kottaras is also in the lineup today because Jonathan Lucroy has a bruised right hand. With Kottaras not 100% after his hamstring cramped up yesterday, the Brewers are in trouble if something happens to him.

Here is the full lineup:

Corey Hart 1B
Norichika Aoki RF
Ryan Braun LF
Aramis Ramirez 3B
George Kottaras C
Rickie Weeks 2B
Cody Ransom SS
Nyjer Morgan CF
Shaun Marcum RHP

In the bullpen:

Tim Dillard pitched 1 inning (6 pitches) yesterday and 2 innings (39 pitches) Saturday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (23 pitches) yesterday.
Jose Veras pitched .1 innings (17 pitches) yesterday.
Juan Perez pitched 1 inning (15 pitches) Saturday.
Mike McClendon pitched 2.2 innings (31 pitches) Saturday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched 0.2 innings (7 pitches) Friday.
Manny Parra pitched two innings (44 pitches) Wednesday and could start tomorrow.
Kameron Loe pitched two innings (41 pitches) Wednesday and has been dealing with an elbow issue, but should be available to pitch tonight.