Gonzalez returning to rotation
Beginning Saturday in Arizona, the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation and bullpen will have a slightly different look.
That’s because Gio Gonzalez will be reinstated from the injured list and start against the Diamondbacks, with Adrian Houser moving back into the relief role in which he has pitched so well.
“It’s about getting outs,” manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday morning before the team’s series finale with the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park.
“It’s about Adrian getting outs, it’s about Gio getting outs. Adrian was making progress, but Gio has pitched well and I think Gio can help us at the front of games.
“Adrian is going to go back to something he’s done, so he should be able to fall back into that quickly and seamlessly.”
Gonzalez, 33, went 2-1 with a 3.19 earned run average and 26 strikeouts in 31 innings over six starts after signing a free-agent deal with the Brewers on April 27.
The left-hander made his last start May 27 and was placed on the injured list five days later with soreness in his arm and shoulder that could have been a byproduct of him latching on with the New York Yankees in the final week of spring training.
Gonzalez made his second and final minor-league rehab start Monday at Class AAA San Antonio, allowing five hits and a run with four strikeouts in 42⁄3 innings and 68 pitches, a performance made even more impressive by the fact he endured a nightmare travel day that caused him to arrive at the ballpark only a few hours before game time.
Houser went 0-4 with a 7.83 ERA in six starts, the last four of which came in succession as the Brewers moved Jimmy Nelson to the bullpen. His last outing Monday was his best, as he allowed eight hits and four runs to the Braves in six innings.
As a reliever, Houser is 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA and WHIP of 0.97 and 29 strikeouts in 252⁄3 innings.
“It’s experience,” Counsell said of Houser’s run as a starter.
“It’s experience going out there and understanding what it’s going to take to get through lineups multiple times. It’s a different thing. The other team gets to pick the hitters when you’re the starter and that’s different. You have to get through them at least two times and sometimes their best hitters three times.
“It’s harder. Frankly, it requires more skill and it’s a longer adjustment period and learning process to get through it. I think getting consistent starts here for awhile helped Adrian, for sure.
“He got good feedback from it and he’ll be better for it. And I think he’ll be better for it in the bullpen, too.”
Thumb’s up for Cain
While he managed only a walk in four plate appearances Wednesday, Lorenzo Cain is finally looking more like the catalyst atop the lineup that he was in 2018.
A big key to his recent success at the plate is his right thumb is finally feeling better. Cain traveled to Los Angeles to have a cryotherapy injection in it late last month, and the positive effects have taken hold.
“I’m slowly getting back to it,” said Cain, who’s up to .250 with six home runs and 33 runs batted in. “I’d say a week, 10 days ago I was talking to (Christian Yelich) and saying my thumb feels great.
“I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball a lot better. I’m not chasing as many pitches as I was first half. The second half is off to a good start. Now, keep it going.”
Cain said he initially injured his thumb late last season and it got worse as the postseason went along.
Then in late April it began hurting again, but Cain insisted on trying to play through it until the situation became unbearable.
“I had to deal with the thumb, and I played through it for a while there, even though it might have hindered my numbers a good bit,” said Cain, whose 89 games played are tied for second on the team.
“But for me, it was about being on the field – not only for myself, but my teammates as well. I’ve always tried to change that label that I got early in my career, that I was injury prone. I’ve done everything possible to take care of my body. I played through a lot of stuff; I’m still playing through a lot of stuff.”
Neck and neck
If fans are lucky, the rest of the season is going to play out with Yelich and Cody Bellinger trading homers and pushing each other to the finish line in what looks like it will be a tight race for both the home-run title and the MVP award in the National League.
After going deep in each of the last two games, Yelich is tied for the majorleague lead in homers with Bellinger with 34 and both are among the NL leaders in every major statistical category with about 21⁄2 months to go.
“It’s been really cool,” said Yelich of the competition. “We’ll see. I don’t think we’re exactly looking at what each other is doing. It’s still too early for that. We’ve become kind of semi-friends over the last year or so and it’s always competing with your buddies.
“He’s a great player, and the things he’s doing are unbelievable and we’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.”