Stronger start, same finish

Nelson pitches well, loses duel on mound to Cueto

When you cut your runs allowed by 10 from one game to the next, it’s easy to get discouraged when the result is another loss.

The Milwaukee Brewers weren’t happy with the 0-2 start to the season but they were pretty excited about the way right-hander Jimmy Nelson pitched in a 2-1 loss Tuesday night to the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park.

“Jimmy was really good tonight,” said manager Craig Counsell, whose club lost a pitching duel between Nelson and Giants righty Johnny Cueto the day after getting pummeled, 12-3.

“That’s a tough lineup and he certainly matched Cueto.”

Well, not exactly, but close. Nelson went 71⁄ innings, allowing five hits and two runs, while Cueto covered seven innings in his Giants debut and surrendered six hits and one run. Both pitchers pounded the strike zone and kept the game moving (2 hours 29 minutes), and the hitters never got a chance to settle in.

Nelson was left to rue two moments in the game that made the difference. He elevated a firstpitch changeup in the third inning that Brandon Crawford crushed to right for a home run, and instinctively reached out for a bouncer off the bat of Hunter Pence in the fourth.

With two on and no outs, second baseman Scooter Gennett was positioned behind the bag and the ball was headed his way for a possible double play. Instead, it caromed off Nelson’s glove to load

the bases and the Giants later pushed across the run that decided the game.

“It was just kind of reaction,” said Nelson, who walked one and struck out three. “A tough break. Especially after what happened last year (when Nelson was struck on the side of the head by a liner), I’m trying to catch everything.

“I think it’s a good start to build off, the first start of the season. I felt like I was able to get ahead (in the count) for the most part. Once I can do that, I feel like I have the advantage.”

After relying too heavily on his fastball and slider last season, Nelson spent a good part of spring training working on a changeup to keep hitters off-balance. Though Crawford jumped on one for his homer, Nelson said that wouldn’t deter him from throwing more.

“That wasn’t necessarily bad pitch selection,” he said. “That one just wasn’t executed. I left it up. It was mid-thigh to belt and he did what a big-league hitter does. That won’t scare me away from throwing it. I still have just as much confi- dence in it.”

The Brewers had a chance to snap a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third when Jonathan Villar led off with a double and Nelson bunted him to third. With Villar running on contact and the Giants’ infield playing in, Crawford lunged to his left to field Domingo Santana’s grounder to short and threw home for the out.

“Crawford made an exceptional play,” said Counsell. “It was not an easy ball.”

Cueto took it from there, keeping the Brewers guessing with his myriad of twisting, turning deliveries, channeling the great whirling dervish Luis Tiant.

“Pitching is disrupting the hitters’ timing,” said Counsell. “That’s a big part of pitching. Sometimes, guys do it with changing speeds. Other guys do it through delivery. He’s doing a nice job of that.”

The ever-active Brewers made another personnel move afterward, acquiring left-hander Sam Freeman from Texas for cash considerations. To open a roster spot, they designated for assignment right-hander Ariel Peña, who surrendered three consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of the opener.

Freeman, 28, who had been designated for assignment by Texas, compiled a 3.05 ERA in 54 games for the Rangers last season. Including 81 games with St. Louis the three previous years, he is 3-2 with a 3.23 ERA in the majors, with 59 walks and 101 strikeouts in 1082⁄ innings.