Vintage Peralta shines in dominant outing

ANAHEIM -- “We’ve put a lot on him,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy has said on more than one occasion this season. In several of his recent starts, it looked as if the responsibility of anchoring Milwaukee’s makeshift rotation might be weighing on Freddy Peralta.

But after a vintage performance in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium, Peralta credited his family for helping him relax and pitch for fun. The advice came from his kid brother, 23-year-old Luis Peralta, who is having a big season on the mound for the Pirates’ High-A affiliate.

“I know it’s the truth. I’m too hard on myself sometimes,” Peralta said. “I’m working on it. I’m trying to be better.”

Pitching with a 1-0 lead throughout his outing, the 28-year-old looked every bit the Brewers’ leading arm as he breezed through six scoreless innings, scattering three singles and facing only one real jam in the sixth. Peralta stranded a pair of runners to end that threat, earning his first scoreless start in exactly two months.

Rhys Hoskins hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Christian Yelich’s 199th career stolen base led to an insurance run in the eighth. Brewers relievers Bryan Hudson (two scoreless innings) and Trevor Megill (15th save and second in as many nights) finished the victory for Peralta, who walked two batters and struck out eight while touching 97.7 mph.

“He expects this. He expects six shutout every time, and that’s hard,” Murphy said. “This is Major League Baseball. He’s been around a while and guys know him, guys are getting up for him. I’m really proud Freddy battled the way he did tonight.”

It was a step in the right direction for Peralta, who was charged with nine earned runs on 14 hits in 8 2/3 innings over his previous two starts. On June 8, in Detroit, he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and pitched with diminished velocity as he searched for the strike zone. Six days later, against the Reds in Milwaukee, Peralta’s velocity was back up at over 98 mph, but he surrendered a career-high 10 hits and six earned runs.

He came into Wednesday with a new mindset.

“Everything was a lot clearer for me today,” Peralta said. “I worked on that the last 4-5 days. Sometimes, this game is a lot mental. I tried to relax a little bit and let the game go and do what I needed to do.”

The reminder to relax came from his family -- a huge part of Peralta’s Major League career since the very first day in Colorado in 2018. Peralta earned a surprise, last-minute call-up and his parents watched him pitch professionally for the first time as he set a Brewers rookie record with 13 strikeouts.

Now, the family has two Peralta brothers to follow in pro baseball -- and they always have the right advice.

Asked what they collectively told him going into Wednesday’s outing, Peralta said, “Just try to relax and enjoy the game. If you give up a homer, it’s a homer. It’s going to happen. Just breathe pitch. Remember when you were a little kid and you were in the Minors, you didn’t think about anything. You’ve been here for a while, so let everything happen.”

Peralta’s most stressful test came in the sixth when Luis Rengifo reached on an infield hit despite a valiant effort from Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz. Rengifo advanced to second on a disputed balk and Peralta walked Kevin Pillar with two outs. However, Peralta had a path to escape when he wheeled around and had Rengifo picked off.

Unfortunately, his throw sailed into center field as both runners moved up a base.

“It was a great decision by us doing that move there,” said Peralta, who worked with Brewers backup catcher Gary Sánchez for the first time this season. “I got him, but I slid on the mound. I felt a little bit stupid with myself because I knew I had the opportunity to finish the inning in a great way.”

He set his sights on retiring Angels designated hitter Logan O’Hoppe.

On Peralta’s 101st pitch, O’Hoppe grounded out.

“I’ve faced him quite a few times in my career and it feels like every time I see him pitch against my team, he always pitches really well,” said Angels starter Tyler Anderson. “This year, I think he’s probably pitching better than his numbers say. He had a great one tonight.”