Breaks not going in favor of Marco Estrada

The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players.

Marco Estrada (Glendale Community College, 2003) starting pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers: Even when he’s not battling injuries, Estrada still can’t seem to catch a break on the mound.

An example came in his latest start against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. Estrada, 30, had a no-hitter entering the sixth inning before being struck by a come backer off the bat of Matt Carpenter that went for a hit.

Estrada yielded one run and two hits and struck out six over 6 2/3 innings, but didn’t factor into the decision.

“It’s always frustrating to lose against any team,” Estrada told the Associated Press. “But you come in here, play your butts off. You’re in the game and the next thing you know, you’re down.”

Since coming off the disabled list (strained hamstring) Aug. 7, Estrada is 2-0 with a 2.39 earned-run average in six appearances. He’s next scheduled to pitch Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs in Milwaukee.

In Estrada’s previous appearance against the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Aug. 31, the right-hander went seven innings. He surrendered four runs (all earned) and nine hits and struck out eight. He didn’t get a decision in Milwaukee’s 6-5 defeat.

In 18 appearances, Estrada is 6-4 with a 4.29 ERA. He’s struck out 97 and walked 25 in 107 innings.

Entering Saturday’s home game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Brewers are 64-82 and in fourth place in the National League Central Division.

Brandon McCarthy (Glendale native) starting pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks: McCarthy, who is in his first year with Arizona after playing last season with the Oakland Athletics, had an interesting outing Friday against the visiting Colorado Rockies.

The right-hander went six innings, giving up two runs (both earned) and 11 hits in six innings. He struck out two, but didn’t factor into the decision, as Arizona suffered a 7-5 loss. McCarthy made 89 pitches, 72 for strikes, while facing 27 batters. Ten of the 11 hits came with two outs.

On the flip side, McCarthy recorded his first career hit. He singled to center field in the fourth inning after having been hitless in his previous 39 at-bats.

In a start against the host San Francisco Giants on Sept. 7, McCarthy allowed one run over eight innings and picked up the victory in a 2-1 win. He gave up six hits, struck out six and walked one.

“For me, I have to have command and if I am not using everything and using it to both sides of the plate it becomes a much easier job for teams to hit me,” McCarthy told the Associated Press. “Once I was able to kind of fix what I needed to mechanically everything has gone back into place the way I hoped it would. It’s less thinking and just kind of being able to execute.”

In his last four trips to the mound, McCarthy has gone deep into games. He’s pitched at least six innings in each start, going 2-1 and compiling a 2.10 ERA in that stretch.

McCarthy is 4-9 with a 4.58 ERA. He’s struck out 70 and walked 19 over 116 innings. McCarthy spent nearly two months on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

The Diamondbacks were 73-73 and in second place in the National League’s West Division entering Saturday’s game against Colorado.