Peralta does a little of everything in win
It was the Freddy Peralta Show at Miller Park on Wednesday afternoon.
The rookie right-hander pitched seven shutout innings and also contributed at the plate as the Milwaukee Brewers took a 4-0 victory over Cincinnati to capture the series, two games to one.
Peralta (6-4, 4.02) dominated the Reds, who scored nine runs the previous night via a series of bizarre hits and sloppy defensive plays by the Brewers. Over his seven innings, he allowed only three hits – all singles – with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Over his 69 1/3 innings this season, Peralta has allowed only 40 hits. He also collected his first big-league hit, an RBI single, and contributed to a two-run rally with a sacrifice bunt.
It didn’t take long for the Brewers to get on the board. Leading off the bottom of the first, Christian Yelich launched a 2-2 slider from right-hander Robert Stephenson out to left-center for his 21st home run of the season, matching his career high in 2016.
The Brewers ran into outs on the bases in the second and third innings, which turned out to cost them runs. After doubling with one out in the second, Ryan Braun was caught off second base on Jonathan Schoop’s grounder to shortstop, just before a single to center by Manny Piña.
Yelich led off the third with a double and attempted to steal third with no outs but was thrown out by Reds catcher Curt Casali. Lorenzo Cain followed with a single to center, which easily would have scored Yelich from second.
Braun doubled again in the fourth and was on second with two down when the Reds intentionally walked Piña to get to Peralta. Considering Peralta was 0 for 22 in the majors with 11 strikeouts, the move made perfect sense but he foiled it by collecting his first hit, an RBI single to center that made it 2-0.
Yelich followed with a walk to load the bases but Cain took a called third strike on a pitch he thought was inside, keeping it a two-run game.
The Brewers broke through for a couple more runs in the sixth to double their lead. Schoop and Piña got things started with base hits, resulting in Stephenson yielding to lefty Wandy Peralta. The Brewers’ Peralta helped out by bunting up the runners, leading to a bloop RBI single to left by Yelich, who reached for the fourth time.
Cain then chopped an infield hit over the pitcher’s mound, sending in Piña to make it 4-0.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
CHALLENGES ARE CHALLENGING: The Brewers have been by far the worst team in the majors in challenging umpires’ calls and that trend continued in the third after Yelich was thrown out trying to steal third base with no outs. Replays showed Yelich’s lead hand was blocked from touching the base by José Peraza’s foot and the call stood, dropping the Brewers to 420 in replay challenges.
BIG BOY DOUBLE PLAY: When Travis Shaw starts at second and Jonathan Schoop at short, with third baseman Mike Moustakas and first baseman Jesús Aguilar, the Brewers like to call it their “Big Boy Infield.” There has been chatter about players out of position hurting the defense, with some validity, but Shaw and Schoop turned a nice 4-6-3 DP on a grounder into the hole at second by Tucker Barnhart in the second inning.
TIME TO BUCKLE DOWN: With Peraza on first base in the fourth inning, Peralta threw over but Aguilar was looking down at his belt, which apparently had come undone, and the throw sailed over everyone’s. Luckily for the Brewers, the ball caromed off the railing and back into play, forcing Peraza to hold the base. Aguilar then went over to the dugout and got a new belt from teammate Orlando Arcia.
HOPING TO GET SCHOOP GOING: When Schoop delivered a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning Tuesday night off Reds reliever David Hernandez, the hope was that it would get Schoop going at the plate. He had been in a miserable slump since being acquired from Baltimore on July 31, with no previous homers. “You need a moment that makes you feel good,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You’re kind of waiting for it; you’ve been here three weeks without one. It’s a chance to exhale a little bit and know it’s still there.”
FLAT TIRES ON CYCLE: The Brewers haven’t had a player hit for the cycle since George Kottaras did it on Sept. 3, 2011 at Houston. Yelich came to bat in the eighth, needing a triple to complete the cycle but settled for a base hit, allowing him to reach in all five trips to the plate: homer, double, two singles and a walk.
RECORD
This year: 71-58 Last year: 66-63
ATTENDANCE
Wednesday: 33,058 This year: 2,174,692 (34,519 avg.) Last year: 1,952,118 (30,986 avg.)
COMING UP
Thursday: Off.
Friday: Pirates at Brewers, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (2-2, 2.18) vs. Pittsburgh RHP Joe Musgrove (5-7, 3.31). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.