Win number 82 will have to wait for another day. Even though the Brewers got a scoreless day from Freddy Peralta, it was the bullpen and defense that let the team down today. The result is a 7-1 loss to the Giants, their first loss of three or more runs since July 30.
Peralta began the day with a scoreless first. He allowed a two-out walk to Willy Adames, but that was all. Meanwhile, the Brewers started strong on offense as Sal Frelick singled to lead off the game. Next up was Isaac Collins, who worked the count full. On a 3-2 pitch, Collins took the pitch as Frelick went for the steal. It was a strike down the middle for strike three, and Patrick Bailey had a clear throw to Adames covering second to get Frelick. Contreras struck out after that to end the inning.
In the second, Peralta continued to struggle with his command. After Casey Schmitt flew out to start the inning, Peralta issued back-to-back walks to Matt Chapman and Luis Matos. He did recover from there, striking out Bailey and Drew Gilbert to end the inning. However, Peralta needed 31 pitches to get through the inning and was at 44 after two.
The offense got to Brandon Webb in the bottom of the inning. Jake Bauers reached base on a hit by pitch to give the Brewers a baserunner. That set up Caleb Durbin, who sent a line drive into the right-center gap for an RBI double.
Anthony Seiger kept the heat up as he drew a walk. Blake Perkins grounded out, but moved up Durbin and Seigler with two outs. They would be left stranded there after Andruw Monasterio flew out to end the inning.
After a long second inning, Peralta was looking for a quicker third inning. It didn’t go that well, as he issued his fourth walk of the game, this one to Rafael Devers. Peralta struck out Adames and Dominic Smith to end the inning, but needed another 20 pitches to get through it. In the bottom of the inning, Isaac Collins hit a one-out double to give the Brewers another scoring chance, but they couldn’t cash it in. Contreras flew out and Christian Yelich lined out (both to center) to end the inning.
Peralta had a better fourth inning as he didn’t issue another walk, but a two-out single by Luis Matos was the first hit he gave up on the day. He struck out Bailey to end the inning, but it was another 20-pitch inning for him. Meanwhile, the Brewers had another scoring opportunity for the third straight inning. Durbin was hit by a pitch, then Seigler singled to put runners at first and second again. Perkins grounded out for his second straight at-bat, but this one turned into a double play that ended the inning.
The fifth inning was Peralta’s shortest of the day, and that came with some help from Monasterio. Gilbert hit a shallow pop-up that Monasterio made a diving catch for the out.
Jung Hoo Lee would single to center to give the Giants another baserunner, but Devers grounded into a double play on the first pitch to end the inning. That would also be the end of Peralta’s day. His final line was fine — five innings pitched, no runs allowed, six strikeouts, two hits, four walks — but it was not his best day. He finished at 96 pitches, with most of that coming between the second and fourth innings, where he threw 71 of his 96 pitches. He also threw just 54 pitches for strikes. Peralta admitted after the game that he can be better than that.
The offense couldn’t help out Peralta in the fifth as they went down an order, still holding on to a 1-0 lead. That would all fall apart in the sixth inning. Grant Anderson was first into the game out of the bullpen. First up for him was Adames, who hit a bouncing ball to Monasterio. He fielded it and threw wide to first, pulling Bauers off the base. That may be a play where Joey Ortiz’s absence is felt, as he is on the IL for at least another eight days. Smith followed that up with a single, and Schmitt added a double to tie the game at 1-1.
With runners at second and third, Anderson struck out Chapman for the first out of the inning. Matos was up next, and he hit a ground ball right at Seigler. However, Seigler missed the ball, and it bounced off his glove into left field. Both runners scored, and the Brewers were down 3-1. Matos would then steal second, and Bailey singled to put runners at the corners. Gilbert went for the squeeze play, but bunted the ball back towards Anderson. The throw was off, and Contreras had to make a stabbing grab, but brought his glove back around to get the tag on Matos. It saved a run, and Lee grounded out to end the inning. Though the Giants scored three runs in the inning, all went down as unearned to Anderson due to the two errors.
Once again, the Brewers had a scoring chance in the bottom of the inning. A one-out single from Yelich and walk by Bauers put another runner in scoring position. They would be stranded again as Durbin struck out and Seigler flew out to end the inning.
Carlos Rodriguez got the seventh inning, and the Giants kept their offense rolling. Devers singled to start the inning, and Smith doubled following an Adames pop-up. Schmitt wouldn’t miss his scoring chance, sending the second pitch he saw out over the left-center fence. The Brewers were now down 6-1. That wouldn’t be it for the Giants. Chapman drew a walk, stole second, got to third on a Matos fly out, and then scored on a Bailey single. Gilbert popped out to end the inning, but the Brewers were now down 7-1.
From there, the Brewers didn’t have another scoring chance. They had a single in the seventh and eighth, but both were left stranded on base. Rodriguez finished off the last two innings. He had a 1-2-3 eighth inning, then worked around a single and a walk in the ninth for a scoreless inning. As for the Brewers, they went down in order in the ninth to end the game.
The team had their scoring opportunities tonight, putting up seven hits, two walks, and two hit by pitches. Seven of the nine batters reached base at least once. Yelich was the lone Brewer with a multi-hit day, going two-for-four. They couldn’t cash in any of those scoring opportunities as they went zero-for-seven with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.
For the Giants, Webb pitched six innings and allowed just the one run in the second inning. He allowed five hits, two walks, and two hit by pitches, but also struck out five. Joey Lucchesi allowed just a hit in a scoreless seventh, and Spencer Bivens allowed just a hit in the last two innings, striking out two as well.
The rubber match will take place tomorrow afternoon. The Giants will start Robbie Ray. As for the Brewers, they are still marked as TBD for tomorrow’s game. While this would be Brandon Woodruff’s day, Murphy wanted to give Woodruff an extra day of rest. Adam McCalvy noted that Carlos Rodriguez was packing his bag after the game, so he will likely be the corresponding move. The Brewers could recall Chad Patrick — he would be on normal rest after pitching in Tuesday’s doubleheader, and is not bound by option rules since he was called up as a 27th man. Robert Gasser would also be on normal rest if the Brewers want to activate him. His last appearance was a four-inning start for Nashville on Tuesday. However, the Brewers would also have to make a 40-man roster move to activate him.
Tomorrow’s game is scheduled for a 1:10 p.m. CT start, but will also feature the Bob Uecker Celebration of Life before the game. The FanDuel Sports Wisconsin telecast is scheduled to begin at noon, and the event will be broadcast. If you are attending the game, gates open at 10:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 12:15 p.m. No details have been revealed other than that it will be hosted by Bob Costas. There will also be a Telemundo Wisconsin broadcast, as well as the usual broadcast on the Brewers Radio Network.
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