No harm intended
Reliever has discomfort in his pitching elbow
CINCINNATI - Just before game time Saturday evening, the Milwaukee Brewers placed reliever Devin Williams on the 10-day injured list with right elbow discomfort and recalled left-handed reliever Angel Perdomo from Class AAA Nashville.
President of baseball operations David Stearns said Williams experienced elbow soreness after warming up in the bullpen Friday night. He did not appear in the 11-6 victory over the Reds.
“We had a precautionary MRI done this morning which showed no structural damage,” Stearns said. “We have some elbow inflammation that is causing some discomfort. We do not expect this to be a lengthy absence and are treating this with caution.”
Williams, the 2020 National League rookie of the year, has been the eighthinning setup man for closer Josh Hader. In 37 appearances before the break, he went 6-1 with a 2.97 ERA, with 24 hits and 20 walks allowed in 33 1/3 innings while logging 52 strikeouts.
Perdomo was placed on the IL on May 30 with a lower back strain, then sent to Nashville on June 20 for a minor-league rehab assignment. He was reinstated from the IL on July 1 and optioned to the Sounds.
In 12 games with Nashville, Perdomo was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 12 innings. Perdomo has appeared in 13 games for the Brewers, going 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA.
Peterson continues to open eyes
Twice this year, Jace Peterson had opportunities to cut ties with the Milwaukee Brewers.
But each time the veteran utility man chose to stick with the organization, and both parties couldn’t be more pleased with how things have turned out.
Peterson, 31, has played his way into what’s pretty much become an every day spot in the lineup.
First, he filled the void created at second base when Kolten Wong went on the injured list.
Now he’s playing first base most days with Keston Hiura back in a funk at the plate and Rowdy Tellez not having distinguished himself in limited opportunities since being acquired in a July 16 trade.
“First base, you’re going to see some different names in there, but Jace had a really good offensive first half and I think we’re acknowledging that, for sure,” said manager Craig Counsell, who had Peterson back in the lineup Saturday at first base for another big game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
“(Peterson, Hiura and Tellez) are going to be involved and Jace is going to be moving around the field a little bit more with Kolten back.
“But I think he’s still going to be in (the lineup).”
Peterson didn’t make much of a mark offensively for the Brewers in 2020, hitting .200 with two home runs and five runs batted in over 26 games.
But his ability to play pretty much everywhere on the field other than pitcher and catcher is valuable, and Peterson decided to rejoin the Brewers by signing a one-year, free-agent deal Jan. 13.
“I had quite a few teams showing interest, but for me I felt like last year what we did, and for my career, being in the playoffs for the first time, the comfort of knowing the guys and the staff – I enjoyed my time here,” Peterson said. “The Brewers definitely have it figured out as an organization.
“I feel like I’m growing as a player each and every year and continuing to get better even though I’m getting older. It just came down to I felt comfortable here and I knew there was good opportunity.”
Peterson hit .208 with two homers and four RBI in 10 games in April before going on the IL for a month with a left thumb that eventually required cryotherapy treatment.
But by the time Peterson completed his minor-league rehab assignment and was healthy enough to return, the Brewers designated him for assignment because they needed to open a 40-man roster spot.
No major-league team claimed Peterson on waivers. Peterson then had the right to declare himself a free agent and work out a deal elsewhere.
But after a conversation with president of baseball operations David Stearns and general manager Matt Arnold, Peterson again decided the fit with Milwaukee was too good to disrupt.
“They’re straight shooters, and that’s what I like,” Peterson said. “At this point in my career, I like to talk, figure it out and see what we’ve got and what it’s looking like. They were honest with me and so I felt like it was a good place to be.”
After a five-game tuneup at Class AAA Nashville, Peterson returned to the Brewers on June 8 in the wake of Hiura’s second demotion.
He’s been on fire since, compiling a .411 on-base percentage that entering Saturday ranked him fifth in the NL and 10th in the majors. His 22 walks over that span were fourth-most in the NL and sixth-most in the majors.
His exploits have earned him the nickname “On-Base Jace” from Brewers fans on Twitter in the meantime.
“I don’t have Twitter, but anything with on-base sounds good to me,” Peterson said with a chuckle.
Since returning to the majors, Peterson was hitting .270 with two homers and 16 RBI to go along with an OPS of .838. In 44 games overall, including starts at second and first base as well as in left and right field, he’d compiled a line of .257/4/20/.826.
His overall on-base percentage also sat at .393, just a click below team leader Christian Yelich’s .395.
Peterson has also made his mark by grinding out lengthy at-bats that don’t necessarily result in him reaching base, but by being a thorn in a pitcher’s side after making him throw seven, eight, nine and sometimes even more pitches
Cincinnati’s best player, Nick Castellanos, was out of the lineup Saturday after being hit in the right wrist by a 94mph Adrian Houser sinker in Friday’s game.
X-rays were negative, Reds manager David Bell told reporters, and Castellanos ultimately was removed from the game after running the bases.
Milwaukee pitchers hit three batters in all Friday, including two by Houser.
“I definitely wasn’t trying to go there,” Houser said of hitting Castellanos — a sequence which included the rightfielder turning and gesturing to Milwaukee’s dugout that he’d been hit with the Brewers arguing he’d swung at the pitch first.
“I’m not trying to throw at anybody like that or anything like that; just had a sinker get away from me. It doesn’t feel good getting hit. It doesn’t matter if it’s 100 or if it’s 75, you’re still getting hit by a round piece of leather that’s pretty hard and pretty dense.
“Some of those reactions that you see are definitely well-warranted, because like I said, it doesn’t feel good to get hit, that’s for sure.”
Welcome back
Kolten Wong celebrated his return from the injured list Friday with hits in each of his three final at-bats, including a terrific opposite-field single off lefthander Amir Garrett that drove in what proved to be the winning run in the sixth inning.
After the game, Counsell and others noted Wong’s propensity for big offensive games after having missed extended time.
“It’s incredible,” Counsell said of Wong, who is now 7 for 14 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored in the three games he’s played on days he’s been reinstated from the IL with the Brewers.
“He’s got an uncanny way of getting locked in and getting it going despite not having any at-bats. We’ll take note of that next spring training, for sure. It’s been impressive. The Garrett at-bat, that’s a tough at-bat. And it’s in a big spot. He put together a great at-bat.”
Quipped Houser: “It would be nice if we could activate him off the IL every day but I don’t think that’s possible. The guy gets like three or four hits every time he gets activated.”
Wong’s three-hit game also gave him 10 on the season, tied for second-most in the NL with Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier behind Washington’s Trea Turner (12).