Adam McCalvy:

Manager Ken Macha intends to start Rivera for a second straight game when Yovani Gallardo takes the mound against the Astros at Miller Park.

And why not? Rivera, who has been with the Brewers all season but only had 63 at-bats before Thursday, belted a pair of home runs and drove in four as Milwaukee beat up on, then held off the Padres to salvage a win in the series finale. Macha wouldn’t commit past Friday, but the sense was that Rivera, who provides some pop to an offense that, outside of Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron has little, could see more playing time over the final six weeks.

Is Mike Rivera finally going to get a chance at some decent playing time? Remember what I posted last week:

I know it’s impossible to quantify the catcher’s defensive prowess outside of stealing percentages (and even then can it get waffly), but I really think there’s a position somewhere on this baseball diamond the Brewers need to address.

Angel Salome and Jonathan LuCroy are waiting in the wings but still aren’t ready. With Kendall becoming a free agent at the end of this year, would the Brewers really try and resign him?

It’s been recommended more than once to resign Kendall to a one year deal and bring up Salome to be the backup and learn from Kendall, who’s seen as one of those really intelligent baseball people who could teach the defensively-challenged Salome a thing or two about the catching position. Giving him a coaching position and not letting him play would be a better option, since Kendall’s barely been replacement level this year and has made two black holes in the Brewers’ lineup.