SAN DIEGO — Four weeks ago Fernando Valenzuela Jersey , it appeared this would be the weekend that the Arizona Diamondbacks would be locking up a playoff berth — and possibly the National League West title — at Petco Park in San Diego.Well, a strange thing happened en route to the postseason.Since being 74-60 and in first place in the National League West at the end of August, the Diamondbacks have gone 7-18 over the last 25 games. Division title — gone. Playoffs — gone.Article continues below ...The only thing the Diamondbacks are playing out now as they come to San Diego is the string. Meanwhile, the Padres have gone 11-12 since Arizona last led the West, including a two-game split with Arizona.The clubs’ final three-game series of the season begins Friday night with a match of left-handed starters — Arizona’s Patrick Corbin (11-7, 3.23 ERA) facing Padres rookie Eric Lauer (6-7, 4.60).Corbin has been a model of consistency over his first 32 starts this season for the Diamondbacks. His ERA in 20 starts before the All-Star break was 3.24. His ERA in 12 second-half starts is 3.22. His highest ERA for a single month was 3.82 in May.Corbin has 242 strikeouts in 195 innings with a 1.06 WHIP. Opposing hitters are batting .219 against Corbin this season with a .271 on-base percentage and a .339 slugging percentage.The 29-year-old has faced the Padres twice this season and 18 times in his career (13 starts).He is 6-7 during his career against the Padres with a 4.48 ERA, a .272 opponents’ batting average and a 1.38 WHIP. He has 95 strikeouts with 29 walks in 88 1/3 innings. Corbin is 2-4 with a 4.46 ERA, 1.314 WHIP and a .247 opponents’ batting average in nine appearances (six starts) at Petco Park, where he has struck out 40 in 40 1/3 innings.This season, Corbin is 1-0 against the Padres with a 4.50 ERA http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , a 0.92 WHIP and a .178 opponents’ batting average in two starts. He has allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks with 19 strikeouts in 12 innings. He has made one start at Petco Park this season and allowed four runs on six hits in six innings.Lauer, the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Kent State, has made 22 starts during his rookie campaign. But only one of them came against Arizona. On July 5 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Lauer held the Diamondbacks to one run on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts in five innings to pick up his fourth major league win.In four starts since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 30 — he missed a month with a forearm strain — Lauer is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA. He has allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits and seven walks with 19 walks in 19 innings.The Padres have won three of those four starts and are 8-14 in his 22 starts.On the season, Lauer has allowed 60 runs (54 earned) on 120 hits and 45 walks with 94 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings for a 1.56 WHIP and a .285 opponents’ batting average. He is 2-4 at Petco Park with a 5.05 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a .273 opponents’ batting average in 10 starts. Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesThe Milwaukee Brewers are on to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2011 after completing the sweep over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.Wade Miley threw 4.2 scoreless innings and the bullpen took care of the rest as the Brewers earned the 6-0 win in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. The team is also climbing the record books with its recent hot streak:MLB Stat of the Day MLBStatoftheDayThe Brewers are riding an 11-game winning streak into the #NLCS.Talk about getting hot at the perfect time. HUm9UVJioIColorado could only manage four hits in what became the second straight shutout in the 3-0 series loss.Milwaukee Offense Proved It Can Win Without Christian YelichChristian Yelich was the talk of baseball over the second half of the season as his red-hot bat helped him become a favorite for the NL MVP award. However, it's clear the Brewers don't need their star to have a big game in order to win.Milwaukee finished Game 3 with 12 hits from eight players, while Yelich ended up just 0-for-3 with two walks.The squad managed to score in a variety of different ways, using small ball to bring in the first run, while Jesus Aguilar went with the long ball for his first hit of the series:Milwaukee Brewers BrewersCouns believes in Jes煤s.... so much so that he called his homer yesterday. There were no men on base, but well take it. 馃攰 #OurCrewOurOctober 4jfDtRUs9DOrlando Arcia and Keon Broxton also added back-to-back home runs of their own in the ninth inning.In the sixth inning Kenley Jansen Jersey , the Brewers took advantage of Rockies mistakes to scratch two more runs across the board.Meanwhile, there were contributions from some surprising players, including Erik Kratz:Andrew Simon AndrewSimonMLBErik Kratz MLB hits in ...2015: five2016: eight2017: two2018 NLDS: fiveYelich was a difference-maker in the tiebreaker game against the Chicago Cubs and in Game 1 against the Rockies. We know he can carry his team to a win on any given night and is more than likely to do it again at least once in the NLCS.However, he has been quiet for the past two games, and Milwaukee hardly slowed down. This could make the team even more dangerous going forward.Elite Bullpen Could Make Brewers Unstoppable in PlayoffsOlder fans might not like the way starters and bullpens are being utilized in today's game, but relievers have become more important than ever, and the Brewers are changing with the times.Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provided some eye-popping numbers before the game:Tom HaudricourtWhy do #Brewers use their bullpen so often? Including the NLDS, their relievers are 14-0 with 1.72 ERA over 28 games (125.1 IP, 24 ER, 171 Ks). Opponents batted .188. Those numbers are pretty crazy.The pen kept it up in Game 3, with five pitchers combining for 4.1 scoreless innings and just one hit allowed. Corbin Burnes was a highlight in the middle with two perfect innings and two strikeouts http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , earning him the win in the official scorecard.This group has been overlooked for much of the year without big names like Wade Davis or Aroldis Chapman, but it has been one of the best in the majors all season long. It has also helped take some of the pressure off a rotation that doesn't have a true ace.Manager Craig Counsell showed his trust in the bullpen Sunday by taking out a successful Miley in the fifth inning.With so many pitchers capable of shutting down an opposing offense, there is no reason to believe this will stop in the NLCS or even the World Series.Add this to 11 straight victories, and the Brewers are in great shape to take home their first championship in franchise history.Rockies Offensive Struggles Should Lead to Offseason ChangesThe usual story for the Rockies is they always have great hitting and terrible pitching, and it's the latter that holds them back. That wasn't the case in this series, as the starting pitchers performed well in each game, including German Marquez Sunday with just two runs allowed in five innings.The problem was the hitting, as Colorado was shut out for the second time in a row, finishing the series with just two total runs in three games while hitting 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position.In 28 innings this series, the Rockies scored in one of them.Ben Hutchison WISNBennyHutchMan the #Rockies offense is just non-existent.While this could be considered unlucky for a team that finished second in the NL in runs scored, this is an offense that was built around the performance of only two or three players. Per Baseball Reference Enrique Hernandez Jersey , only three of the eight regulars during the season had an OPS+ above 100, which is considered league average.Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story were reliable over the course of a year, but when they aren't hitting (four combined hits in the series), this offense has problems.While David Dahl provided a much-needed boost down the stretch, Colorado still needs more players who can pick up the slack when the starters struggle.Whether the team re-signs free agents DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez or not, it will need to add offensive firepower if it wants to make a deeper run in October next year. What's Next?The Rockies will now start looking toward the 2019 season while the Brewers move onto the NLCS. Milwaukee will host the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves in a series that begins Oct. 12.