Peralta overwhelms Angels with 10 strikeouts

Freddy Peralta was dominant from start to finish, striking out 10 batters over six innings while surrendering just one run in Tuesday night’s win over the Angels. He gave up two hits and two walks, with a solo home run in the fifth inning to Denzer Guzman as the only blemish in an otherwise impeccable start. The Angels struggled against Peralta’s entire arsenal as the Brewers ace racked up an astounding 20 whiffs on 94 pitches.

The first two innings saw Peralta’s electric arsenal on full display. In the first, he allowed a walk to Mike Trout, but struck out his other three batters. The following inning, working around a walk and a base hit, Peralta once again tallied all three of his outs in the form of a strikeout.

While the Brewers starter was mowing down the opposing lineup, Angels starter Caden Dana was on the opposite end of the spectrum. It was a challenge for Dana to find the strike zone for much of the night with only 51 of his 92 pitches registered as strikes. From the first inning, his lack of control gave the Brewers a decisive advantage. Jackson Chourio walked on four pitches and advanced to second on a wild pitch, giving the Brewers a runner in scoring position without taking a swing.

Christian Yelich followed with an RBI double for Milwaukee’s first run once Dana fell behind 3-1 in the count. Yelich took a changeup, hanging in the bottom of the zone, to right field to give Milwaukee the 1-0 lead. Yelich was picked off by Dana when Yelich jumped too early for third, but the Brewers continued to work Dana hard. Between a walk from William Contreras and a double from Brice Turang, the Brewers nearly plated another run, but Andrew Vaughn fouled out to end the inning.

The following inning, the Brewers’ masterful approach to small ball paid off once again. After a leadoff single from Caleb Durbin and a stolen base, Durbin moved to third on an infield single from Blake Perkins. The advancement gave Durbin easy access to home plate on a sacrifice fly from Sal Frelick to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the second. Durbin came through in another important moment in the third inning, knocking an RBI single in a two-out situation.

The biggest moment of the game came from Yelich’s bat in the fourth inning. Dana’s pitch count was already approaching 100. With Frelick on base via a walk, Yelich came up with two outs and worked a full count. Just like his RBI double in the first inning, Yelich once again jumped on Dana’s changeup, but this time with a bigger bang, connecting for a two-run home run. It was his 29th homer of the year, sending the Brewers up 5-0 on the scoreboard. The Angels had seen enough and pulled Dana from the game.

Shortly after Yelich’s home run, Guzman hit his home run to push the scoreline to 5-1. The Milwaukee bullpen did a solid job following up on Peralta’s dominant start, but it wasn’t flawless. In the seventh inning, Christian Moore hit a solo home run off of Grant Anderson to momentarily pull the Angels back within reach with a 5-2 score.

Peralta’s consistency is worthy of recognition. He’s been on a remarkable run, allowing more than one run in just one of his last eight starts. Perhaps just as impressive is that he hasn’t allowed three or more runs in back-to-back starts since late June.

With Dana out of the game, the Brewers had a harder time manufacturing runs but still created a few opportunities. In the sixth, Frelick doubled, but couldn’t advance. In the seventh, Los Angeles reliever Sammy Peralta recorded two outs before the Brewers made trouble for him with a full count walk from Turang.

Vaughn, after fouling out with runners in scoring position in the first inning, found his highlight moment with a hard-hit double to bring Turang home. Sliced into the right field corner, Turang’s speed was more than enough to score from first, sending the Brewers up 6-2.

Chad Patrick took some inspiration from Peralta’s earlier effort once Patrick came in for the eighth inning. Striking out all three batters, Patrick secured a significant lead entering the game’s final frame. His final pitch of the inning was a brilliantly placed sinker on the edge of the plate to catch Trout looking.

If that wasn’t enough, Chourio knocked an RBI single on a hard-hit grounder the following inning to expand the lead. Yelich hit another ball to the left side of the infield, a difficult play for the shortstop, resulting in an infield hit. It was Yelich’s third hit of the day, setting up a bases-loaded situation. Contreras, for the third consecutive batter, ripped a hit to the left side of the infield. With Milwaukee storming ahead, 9-2, Angels reliever Sammy Peralta couldn’t slip anything by the Brewers.

With one out recorded, the Brewers still had a chance to make it an even more exaggerated line. Turang hit into a fielder’s choice to push a runner to third, leaving men on the corners for Vaughn. The rally ended there, though, as Vaughn flew out. The Brewers didn’t need anything more, but it was evidence of how much they cruised through this game, outhitting the Angels 13-3.

The Brewers entrusted Joel Payamps with sealing the game. A nine-pitch at-bat against Taylor Ward started the ninth, but after forcing a flyout, Payamps retired Jo Adell on two pitches with a groundout to Turang. The Angels, down to their final out, still down seven runs, had Logan O’Hoppe up to bat, working a full count before flying out on a ranging play from Perkins at the warning track.

It was a cohesive game for Milwaukee, overpowering a team that they should beat, frankly. With their ace on the mound, they lived up to that expectation, punishing a starter in Dana who has struggled all season. Milwaukee has its sights on the top seed in the National League and needs to win games like this with the campaign nearing its end. With four hitters registering multiple hits, nearly the entire lineup played a crucial role in the offensive fireworks.

Looking at the playoff picture, the Brewers’ magic number for the NL Central is down to seven, and the magic number for the No. 1 seed is at 9, pending tonight’s result between the Phillies and Dodgers.

The Brewers secured the first game in the series and will look to continue with that momentum tomorrow. Brandon Woodruff is slated to face off against Jose Siriano. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.