Game Preview/Thread #-11: Brewers (9-12) @ Giants (9-11)

Not-so-fun Fact: The Brewers are 0-5 in their last five Cactus League road games, having last won away from Maryvale against the Mariners on March 6.

They'll look for that ever-elusive win today against Ryan Vogelsong (3.38 ERA this spring, 3.37/3.70 ERA/FIP in 2012) and the split-squad Giants. Vogelsong pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, so this is his first official appearance for the Giants since March 4. He pitched in two WBC games, compiling a 3.72 ERA over 9.2 innings.

We all likely know the story about Vogelsong, who was out of the majors from 2007-10 before being a revelation for San Francisco in 2011. His name always makes me think of Vogons, who are credited with writing the third-worst poetry in history in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Vogelsong throws a low-90's fastball with a relatively even mix of curves, changeups and cutters. He did not face the Brewers in a regular season game in 2012.

He'll face Chris Narveson (5.40 ERA this spring, 7.00/6.21 ERA/FIP in 2012), who would appear to be pretty comfortably slotted into a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Narveson last pitched against the Indians on Friday and allowed two runs on seven hits over four innings, walking none and striking out two.

Assuming Narveson remains on an every-five-days schedule from this point on, he'd be in line to make two more Cactus League starts and pitch one of the exhibitions at Miller Park before pitching in the season's fourth game against the Diamondbacks on April 5. If you assume the current rotation is lined up to start the season (not necessarily a given), that'd mean Wily Peralta would start against the Rockies in the third game on April 3.

Narveson has posted a 14.46 career ERA in three regular season appearances against the Giants, but all of those games were played in 2010 or earlier.

This lineup is kind of spring training road game-y:

Carlos Gomez CF
Alex Gonzalez 2B
Martin Maldonado C
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Khris Davis LF
Caleb Gindl RF
Donnie Murphy SS
Sean Halton 1B
Chris Narveson P

It's a hot day in Phoenix today, with a game-time temperature around 83 rising to around 85 as the afternoon goes along. That's about 70 degrees warmer than what we're currently seeing in Wisconsin.

Enjoy the game!