Record-setting Hader is NL’s reliever of the month
CINCINNATI - Two days after his record-setting performance against the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Josh Hader was recognized for his body of work over the entire first month-plus of the season.
Hader was named the National League’s reliever for March/April after posting an earned run average of 1.00, a WHIP of 0.50, limiting opposing batters to just four hits and a .070 collective average and saving four games, with each one going two innings or more.
He also struck out 39 batters in just 18 innings, for an incredible rate of 19.5 per nine innings.
Hader on Monday struck out eight of the nine Cincinnati Reds batters he faced in 22⁄3 innings, making him the first pitcher in modern baseball history to fan as many in fewer than three innings.
“I’ve just got to keep it rolling. Keep helping the team any way I can and keep winning games,” Hader said. “Anytime you can have records and stuff like that, it’s pretty sweet. The mind-set still stays the same. But it’s definitely an honor.”
The entire bullpen has been tremendous thus far for the Brewers, and the series against the Reds at Great American Ball Park has been no different. After Hader locked down a 6-5 victory on Monday, Jeremy Jeffress followed suit with a gut-check, 1 2/3-inning save on Tuesday to finish off a 7-6 victory.
“Josh had a great month. We’ve got a bunch of guys in the bullpen that have had a great month,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I’d put (Jeffress) up for that award for sure, and we had a bunch of guys who had a fantastic month. It’s been a really important group for us. Our whole pitching staff has performed outstanding.
“It’s good that somebody on the pitching staff’s being recognized.”
Welcome back: Many assumed that Brett Phillips‘s recall from Class AAA Colorado Springs on Tuesday would be a one-day thing, with the Brewers optioning him back out after the game so they could add Wade Miley to the 25man roster.
But the team designated right-hander Oliver Drake for assignment instead, and Phillips could see some playing time this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park with three right-handed starters scheduled to throw.
Phillips had a two-day stint with the Brewers earlier in April, upping the number of times he’s been called up to six since he first made his major-league debut last June 5.
“They didn’t tell me anything, so for me I’ll just go out each day and try to help the team win,” Phillips said. “This is my sixth time. Every time I come up here, it’s awesome. It’s a blessing every time, regardless of for how long it is.”
Phillips pointed to the case of lefthander Brent Suter, who was on the shuttle back and forth to Colorado Springs in 2016 and ‘17 but has now seemingly found a foothold with the Brewers.
“For me, I hope to kind of mimic that,” Phillips said. “Even if they have plans for me to go back down, every time I come up I need to give them reason to call me up again.”
Phillips is hitting .288 with six runs batted in and an OPS of .888 in 21 games with the Sky Sox, and was 1 for 8 with the Brewers entering Wednesday.
So far, so good: Lorenzo Cain got a rare day off on Wednesday for the series finale, with Christian Yelich making the start in center field in his place.
Cain, who signed a five-year, $80 million free-agent deal with the Brewers in late January, has more than lived up to his end of the bargain to this point. He entered Wednesday hitting .279 with four homers, 10 RBI and a team-best eight stolen bases.
He also has drawn 20 walks, leading to a .392 on-base percentage, while playing a solid center field.
“Lorenzo competes every day, he’s very serious about his craft,” Counsell said. “He shines in the big situations. He knows who he is. And that all leads to a really good baseball player. He wants to be out there, there’s no question.
“For all of our guys, it’s important that we take advantage of a little rest, and with the day off tomorrow I thought it would be a great chance to get him two days and get him back to feeling really good.”
Cain, who said in spring training his goal was to at least match the careerbest 155 games he played last season in Kansas City, is tied for second-most games played on the team with 29. He missed two games earlier in the season with a thigh injury.
“I feel good physically, for sure,” Cain said. “I’ve taken two days off this month. They wanted to give me one off in Chicago and I told them I wanted to play. They wanted to give me a day off on this trip, and today just kind of worked out perfect. No issues.
“Just trying to stay healthy as best I can.”