Houser's thumb injury considered minor

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Right-hander Adrian Houser departed his start against the Mariners after eight outs in an eventual 5-4 Brewers loss Sunday with a familiar ailment: right thumb discomfort.

Houser dealt with a similar cramping sensation in early March last year, and it didn’t prevent him from making his next start on schedule before Spring Training was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Houser and the Brewers are hopeful the latest bout is similarly benign.

“It’s like last year but it’s not really cramped up this year, so I don’t think it will be too big of a worry,” Houser said. “We’ll work on it and strengthen it up a little and we’ll be good to go. I don’t think I’ll need to miss any time.”

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If he does miss time it would just be a couple of days, manager Craig Counsell suspects. That’s good news for the Brewers, because pitching injuries have the potential to be even more troublesome than usual in 2021 as teams embark on a 162-game regular-season schedule after only 60 last year. Houser logged 56 innings in '20 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

He’s been working on a slider and changeup this spring and was in the midst of a solid outing Sunday -- 2 2/3 innings, no hits, two walks, one strikeout -- when it was abruptly cut short.

“This is an important year for Adrian,” Counsell said earlier this month. “Last year, it didn’t go great for him. Some games kind of got away from him. I think this is an important year for him to take a step forward, it really is. As a member of the rotation, he needs to take a step forward. I think it’s about controlling the in-game stuff, the small things, usage and pitch design stuff. It’s really just to be controlling the game and what’s happening in game.”

More injury updates
Infielder Luis Urías went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts but was healthy in his return to Milwaukee’s starting lineup against the Mariners after being sidelined eight full days by a left hamstring strain.

“We’ll take it slow here the first couple days,” Counsell said. “He’s got time to get on a pretty good schedule, and he’s got time to pile on at-bats if we need to do that. He needs to be on the field, there’s no question about it. But we’ve got to get through a little process here first with making sure he’s healthy. Once we’re five days into the playing part, generally, then we’re probably going to load some at-bats on him.”

• Center fielder Lorenzo Cain is trending in the right direction after tweaking his right quadriceps running the bases early in camp. Counsell said Cain should see some game action by next weekend, leaving the veteran about a week and a half to get at-bats in preparation for Opening Day.

• Reliever Devin Williams, the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year, bounced back nicely Sunday from throwing live batting practice the day before, Counsell said. Williams is scheduled for another such session on Tuesday before he gets in a game.

• Out-of-options catcher Jacob Nottingham hit a home run off the batter’s eye in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against Seattle as he continues to pile up at-bats in his comeback from offseason thumb surgery. The last step for Nottingham is to resume catching duties, which could happen by week’s end in an intrasquad setting.

• Outfield candidate Derek Fisher, another player out of Minor League options, exited Sunday’s game with left hamstring discomfort after scoring from first base on Zach Green’s three-run double in the fourth inning. He will probably miss at least a week, Counsell said.

• Reliever Ray Black has resumed throwing and could be a week or so from pitching in a game. Black experienced right elbow inflammation following a March 5 outing against the Rockies in which his velocity decreased noticeably.

• Right-hander Zack Brown, entering a critical season after being left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft each of the past two years, is sidelined by right shoulder fatigue. The Brewers do not consider it a serious injury at this point, Counsell said, but it means Brown will probably not appear in any more Cactus League games.

Last call

• Brewers officials will have a conversation with third baseman Travis Shaw, whose Minor League deal allows the veteran to opt out as early as Monday if he’s not given assurances he will be on Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster. Asked about that looming deadline, Counsell said, “I think Travis is doing a good job with this. That's what I'll tell you.”

• The Twins announced Sunday that right-hander Kenta Maeda will be their starting pitcher on Opening Day against the Brewers at American Family Field on April 1. Maeda held Milwaukee to three runs on six hits in 14 2/3 innings last season, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning on Aug. 18.

• Another day, another hit for top Brewers prospect Garrett Mitchell. He was 8-for-14 in Cactus League at-bats after outrunning a routine bouncer to the second baseman on Sunday for an infield single.