Key trip begins with a wrong turn
Peralta turns in forgettable outing
ATLANTA – After a crushing loss Thursday afternoon to end a disappointing home series, this was not the way the Milwaukee Brewers hoped to open a long, important road trip.
The Atlanta Braves hit starter Freddy Peralta harder than any opponent in his rookie season and cruised to a 10-1 victory Friday night at SunTrust Park to pull into a virtual tie with the Brewers for the first wildcard spot in the National League.
Coming on the heels of blowing a two-run lead in the ninth the day before and losing, 8-4, to the last-place San Diego Padres, the Brewers fell three games behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central. Atlanta moved two percentage points ahead of Milwaukee for the top spot – and a game at home – in the wild-card race.
Making the loss tougher to take, the Brewers where shackled for eight innings by right-hander Kevin Gausman, a pitcher in whom they had interest before Atlanta worked out a trade with Baltimore to get him. Gausman went eight innings – something only one Brewers starter has done this season – and allowed only six hits and one run, with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Peralta made it through only three innings, getting tagged for seven hits and seven runs while also issuing five walks. The seven hits were the most he has allowed in 11 starts and the seven runs equaled the highest total against him (Washington scored seven in six innings on July 25).
The first inning has been an ongoing challenge for Peralta and that trend continued.
Ozzie Albies walked with one out and stole second base with two down, setting up an RBI double by Nick Markakis, who lined a drive to left-center. Johan Camargo followed with looper over the head of third baseman Mike Moustakas and into shallow left for another runscoring double, and he came around on a base hit by Ender Inciarte to make it 3-0.
The Braves came back at Peralta in the third inning after Markakis drew a one-out walk. Carmargo sent a drive to right-center that Eric Thames was unable to track down, the ball caroming off the wall near him for a double that sent Markakis to third.
With the infield in, Inciarte sent a liner over second baseman Travis Shaw and into right-center for a two-run double that made it 5-0. And it only got worse for Peralta, who exited after allowing two more hits and a walk in the fourth without retiring a batter.
Atlanta scored twice more that inning to take a 7-0 lead, and the way Gausman was mowing through the Brewers’ batting order, the outcome basically was decided.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
NO MORE BULLPEN ADDITIONS: With Joakim Soria joining Taylor Williams and Matt Albers on the DL, the bullpen corps has been thinned considerably at the worst particular time, especially with Corey Knebel being removed from the closer’s role until he gains command of his pitches. But general manager David Stearns said it wouldn’t be easy to pick up another quality reliever via trade in August, when players must clear waivers first. “This happens throughout a baseball season,” Stearns said. “This has been one of the best bullpens in baseball over the course of the year. We have some dings and dents here but that’s going to happen. That’s why you have depth.”
SANTANA HEATING UP FOR SKY SOX: Outfielder Domingo Santana, sent to Class AAA Colorado Springs in late June to search for his power stroke, has been swinging the bat well in recent weeks. In 21 games since July 15, he was batting .351 with three doubles, five homers, 16 RBI and 1.055 OPS.
DAVIES TO PITCH FOR BILOXI: Right-hander Zach Davies will start Saturday for Class AA Biloxi in Tennessee as he continues his minor-league rehab program while coming back from shoulder and back issues. Davies pitched once for Class A Wisconsin and twice for Colorado Springs on this stint through the minors.
REALLY WILD, WILD CARD: With the three divisional races in the NL up for grabs, it creates a crazy wild-card race as well. Entering play Friday, the Brewers sat in the top wild-card spot, with Atlanta a game behind, in the second spot. But Arizona and Los Angeles had virtually the same records as the Braves, with Colorado and St. Louis 3 1⁄2 back, Pittsburgh four back and Washington 4 1⁄2 back. “I found the National League standings give you a headache,” manager Craig Counsell said. “For the last month, there’s nothing to learn from them. It tells me to worry about your own team, win games.”
NICE, ROUND NUMBER: When reliever Jordan Lyles made his debut in place of Peralta, he became the 50th player to see action for the Brewers this season, tied for the second-most in franchise history (also 2016, 2017). The franchise record is 53 by the Seattle Pilots in their only season in 1969.
RECORD
This year: 66-53 Last year: 60-59
COMING UP
Saturday: Brewers at Braves, 6:10 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (2-1, 2.10) vs. Atlanta RHP Julio Teheran (8-7, 4.48). TV: FS1. Radio: AM-620.