Hoping to end skid, Gomez sits with sore elbow

MILWAUKEE -- Carlos Gomez, the Brewers' All-Star center fielder, was unable to start Sunday because of pain in his right elbow. It is the latest in a series of ailments that have sent Gomez into a slump.

Gomez is also dealing with a sore left shoulder, which he injured making a wall-crashing catch June 23 against the Braves, and a sore left thumb, which he sprained on a headfirst slide into second base. Since a four-hit game against the Mets on July 5, he has three hits (two of them home runs) in his last 39 at-bats, dropping his batting average from .319 to .292.

"He's got some physical stuff going on; that's why he's not playing today," manager Ron Roenicke said. "He's got a little elbow thing going on, and he has that off and on, but it flared up [Saturday]."

Roenicke hoped one day off would be enough to calm Gomez's elbow to the point he could start Monday's series opener against San Diego. The Brewers also hope to have left fielder Ryan Braun back in the lineup after giving him Sunday to rest his legs following Braun's first nine-inning game since June 8.

After homering in Friday's win over the Marlins, Gomez conceded that his physical ailments had been affecting his swing.

"They are little things that complicate it when you want to be really, really good," Gomez said. "I've been playing because I don't think to play baseball games you need to be 100 percent. I don't put out excuses, but sometimes there are little things that don't let you do exactly what you want to."