Shaw’s homer backs Peralta’s strong start
CHICAGO – Freddy Peralta did not have pinpoint control Tuesday night. What he did have was a breaking ball that kept the Chicago Cubs off his fastball.
The result for Milwaukee's starting pitcher was five innings of shutout ball, helping the Brewers snap a threegame skid with a 4-0 victory at Wrigley Field.
Peralta is getting another chance this season to show he can be an effective starting pitcher after mostly succeeding as a reliever in the past. The key is getting his slider over for strikes, which keeps hitters off his fastball.
Peralta issued four walks in his fiveinning stint but allowed just one hit while logging eight strikeouts. Lefty Brent Suter followed with three hitless innings before newly activated Brad Boxberger took over in the ninth to complete the one-hitter, which came on Kris Bryant's triple with one down in the fourth.
The game started on a distinctly different offensive note for the Brewers, who were struggling offensively as a team, particularly in the early innings. With one down, Daniel Vogelbach drew a walk off right-hander Adbert Alzolay and motored to third on a sharp single into the right-field corner by Christian Yelich.
Travis Shaw sent a 1-0 slider the other way and out to left for a threerun homer, his first of the season. It was the first time the Brewers scored in the opening inning this season, and the three runs were the most they tallied against a starting pitcher.
Peralta alternated strikeouts and walks in the second inning, striking out Bryant, walking Joc Pederson, striking out Javier Báez and walking Jason Heyward. He was on the verge of another walk when he fell behind in the count, 3-1, to David Bote before recovering to retire him on a fly to center.
Omar Narváez, who singled to open the second inning, continued to swing a hot bat in the fourth. With two down, he took a fastball from Alzolay the other way and out to left-center for a home run to make it 4-0.
It was the second homer in 13 plate appearances this season for Narváez, matching his total for the entire 2020 season in 126 plate appearances.
The Cubs had their best chance to score off Peralta in the bottom of the inning, when Bryant sent a hard grounder into the left-field corner that skipped past an off-balance Yelich for a triple. Peralta would have none of it, however, using his slider to strike out Pederson and Báez.
Peralta would pitch one more inning, putting down the side in order in the fifth without allowing a ball past the mound. He threw 91 pitches, 50 for strikes, mixing in more sliders than the Cubs ever had seen from him.
Left-hander Brent Suter took over for Peralta and continued the Cubs' offensive misery by retiring the first eight hitters he faced. That string was snapped when pinch-hitter Matt Duffy drew a two-out walk in the eighth and Suter also fell behind in the count to Ian Happ before getting him to fly out to deep center on a 3-2 fastball.
Things got tense in the bottom of the ninth when Boxberger hit Willson Contreras with a pitch. Contreras, who was beaned on the helmet Monday night by Devin Williams, took exception and pointed at Boxberger, then pointed into the Brewers' dugout. Both benches emptied but order was restored without any violence.
The Brewers then turned a nifty double play on Anthony Rizzo's grounder to second and Boxberger retired Bryant on a grounder to third to end the game.