Arizona (45-40) at Milwaukee (45-40)

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers have the same record and are in the thick of their respective division races.

Only the Brewers appear to be getting credit for that.

A day after being denied his first All-Star game selection, Daniel Hudson(notes) looks to extend the longest winning streak of his career as the Diamondbacks open a three-game series against the Brewers on Monday.

Arizona (45-40) continues to be one of the biggest surprises in baseball, trailing first-place San Francisco by three games in the NL West. That’s a vast improvement after consecutive last-place finishes.

Milwaukee (45-40) is tied with St. Louis atop the Central, posting the best home record in baseball at 29-11.

The Brewers’ success may have played a part in Ryan Braun(notes), Prince Fielder(notes) and Rickie Weeks(notes) getting voted as NL starters for next week’s All-Star game in Arizona.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, had only Justin Upton(notes) - hitting .375 in the last 23 games - named to the team as a reserve. Pitcher Ian Kennedy(notes) is subject to the final vote by fans.

“We’d prefer to have more than one guy, but we respect that it’s the manager’s decision to pick who he wants to pick,” manager Kirk Gibson told the team’s official website. “J-Up is a good representative for us, he’s been there before and he’s played well for us. He’s matured a lot this year, been pretty consistent, been hot the last month and he’ll represent us well.”

While Kennedy’s All-Star fate will be known Thursday, Hudson (9-5, 3.49) looks to continue proving he was worthy of selection.

The right-hander is among the league leaders with a career high in wins, and leads all pitchers with a .303 average and seven RBIs.

He’s 6-0 with a 2.77 ERA in nine starts, and that unbeaten streak continued despite not getting a decision in Tuesday’s 6-4 win over Cleveland. He allowed two runs in eight innings and helped himself with a run-scoring double.

Hudson was dominant in his only meeting with the Brewers on Aug. 11, yielding two runs and fanning nine in seven innings of an 8-2 win at Miller Park. He was also Arizona’s biggest offensive producer with a career-high three RBIs by clearing the bases on a double.

The Diamondbacks could use another strong effort from Hudson after losing for the sixth time in eight games with Sunday’s 7-2 defeat at Oakland. Kennedy gave up all of Oakland’s runs in 5 2-3 innings.

“Knowing the break is coming up means we can lay it all on the line,” Upton said. “We have to go out with some energy and intensity and get as many games as we can.”

The Brewers may be thrilled to return home after a 1-5 trip that ended with Sunday’s 9-7 loss at Minnesota.

However, they will be without their hottest hitter because Braun, riding a career-best 22-game hitting streak, will miss a second straight game due to a left calf strain.

Shaun Marcum(notes) (7-3, 3.16) gets the ball looking to rebound from Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees. The right-hander allowed four runs in five innings. He lasted just four total innings over his previous two outings due to a hip flexor injury.

He won his only game against Arizona, striking out eight and allowing three runs in five innings of a 12-4 victory May 23, 2010.