Hardy sits for Game 2 vs. D-backs

J.J. Hardy will be wearing his “Retro Friday” uniform on the Brewers bench. The slumping shortstop (hitless in his last 11 at-bats, one hit in his last 20 at-bats and hitting .156 this season) is out of the lineup today against Jon Garland and the White Sox, with Craig Counsell starting instead. Counsell is 1-for-3 against Garland; Hardy has never faced him.

Otherwise, it’s the same Brewers lineup as usual for a team on a roll. The Brewers have won eight of their last nine games thanks mostly to their pitching. During that nine-game span, Brewers pitchers lead the Majors with a 2.20 ERA, a .199 opponents batting average (59-for-297), 68 strikeouts and an .889 winning percentage.

The lineups:

D-BACKS
Felipe Lopez  2B
Eric Byrnes  LF
Conor Jackson  1B
Mark Reynolds  3B
Justin Upton  RF
Chris Young  CF
Chris Snyder  C
Josh Wilson  SS
Jon Garland  RHP

BREWERS
Rickie Weeks  2B
Corey Hart  RF
Ryan Braun  LF
Prince Fielder  1B
Mike Cameron  CF
Craig Counsell  SS
Bill Hall  3B
Jason Kendall  C
Manny Parra  LHP

Parra is off to an 0-4 start to the season, but he should match-up well against Arizona, a team that’s 2-7 this season against left-handed starters. Arizona’s starters are a combined 3-for-27 (.111) against Parra.