Hader’s multi-inning appearances may be rare
Josh Hader turned in his first multi-inning appearance Friday, registering a 1 1⁄3-inning save in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
But don’t get used to it. Manager Craig Counsell indicated Saturday that his thought right now is to utilize the lefthander more strictly in the traditional one-inning closer’s role for the first time in Hader’s four years with the team.
With Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes settling into longer “piggyback” roles behind starters, Brent Suter also capable of providing length and David Phelps and Devin Williams proving capable of succeeding in high-leverage situations, Counsell now has a multitude of ways he can go prior to calling on Hader.
“I’m not sure how this is going to go,” Counsell said. “There’s a couple different ways to think about it. I think our personnel is different this year, so it’s got me kind of considering some different things with how some other guys are throwing the ball and how we’re deploying our guys.
“I don’t know if I would commit to saying you’ll see Josh for a bunch of multiple-inning outings here. I don’t know if that’s going to be the case.”
Hader has been named the National League’s reliever of the year for two seasons running and his ability to throw more than an inning at a time has made him a unique weapon for Counsell, who hadn’t hesitated to take advantage previously.
Of Hader’s 37 saves in 2019, a major-leagueleading nine of those came in appearances of two or more innings. And of the 14 overall appearances Hader made of two or more innings, the Brewers posted a 13-1 record.
In 2018, Hader led the majors with seven saves of two or more innings and had 23 such appearances in total, with the Brewers going 23-0 behind him.
Hader is as team-first as they come, having willingly taken the ball as a non-traditional closer and perhaps paying the price for it this spring in arbitration.
But when asked for his preference Saturday, he said he’s fine with assuming the more traditional role of closer.
“Honestly, I like the one inning,” he said. “You’re not going two, you’re not going updown. I think the hardest thing is going up-down. It’s definitely a different kind of pitching when you have to go multiple.
“But if I can go in there one inning, call it a day and save the pitches and try to keep them low, that’s ideal, for sure.”
In five appearances this season, Hader has four saves and has yet to allow a hit or a run.
Ready, Freddy
Peralta has pitched exclusively in relief in his last three outings for the Brewers but in the process has pitched the equivalent of a complete-game shutout.
With two innings of tense action Friday night in the Brewers’ 4-3 squeaker over the Cubs, Peralta’s pitching line in relief reads like this: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 13 K. Not too shabby. Since making one shaky start against the Cubs (four runs in three innings) in his first appearance of the season, Peralta has been brilliant out of the pen.
He prevented Chicago from blowing the game open Friday night when he took over for starter Brandon Woodruff in the fifth inning with three runs in, the bases loaded and the Cubs’ best hitter, Javy Báez, at the plate.
Peralta struck out Báez, then also whiffed Kyle Schwarber, setting the stage for the Brewers to go back on top on Christian Yelich’s threerun homer in the sixth.
He worked around a one-out double by Jason Heyward in the sixth, striking out two, and exited after punching out Nico Hoerner to open the bottom of the seventh.
The Brewers have tried Peralta in the rotation, including eight starts last season, but for whatever reason he seems more comfortable coming out of the bullpen, particularly if thrown into the middle of the fray.
Let’s get going
Counsell has never been one to go by rote when it comes to lineups, and he proved that again Saturday by batting .158hitting catcher Omar Narváez in the leadoff spot.
He’d already gone with a couple other non-traditional leadoff hitters previously in Avisaíl García and Ryon Healy, and the move worked in García’s case when he slugged his first home run of the season and collected a season-high three hits earlier in the week against the Minnesota Twins.
“Look, we’re not scoring runs and we’ve got a bunch of hitters in the lineup that are scuffling,” Counsell said. “I don’t know if this is the answer to scoring more runs, but in Omar’s case maybe trying to get him some more at-bats in a day at the top of the order.”