PHOENIX -- Left-hander Manny Parra, who is making a bid to earn a spot in the Brewers' rotation, takes the mound as Milwaukee plays host to Colorado this afternoon at Maryvale Baseball Park.
It's another warm, sunny, cloudless day in the Valley of the Sun. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s by the first pitch. The game will be televised on FSN Wisconsin.
Here is the Brewers' starting lineup for the game:
2B Rickie Weeks
CF Tony Gwynn Jr.
1B Prince Fielder
LF Ryan Braun
RF Corey Hart
3B Joe Dillon
SS Alcides Escobar
LHP Manny Parra
C Jason Kendall
It's safe to say that Kendall will bat ninth in the early part of the season. Manager Ned Yost is still trying to decide on a few spots in the lineup. It looks like Gwynn may bat second until Mike Cameron returns from his 25-game suspension.
Yost is considering J.J. Hardy for that spot, but Hardy is working his way back from a flu-like illness that cost him a week of playing time and about 10 pounds from his already thin frame.
Yost also isn't sure whether he'll bat Bill Hall or Corey Hart fifth behind Ryan Braun. Other than that, though, the lineup is pretty much set.
Hardy will take part in the pre-game workout today and should play in a minor-league game in the next few days. Yost expects him to be ready by the season opener, which is one week from today at Wrigley Field.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
