Peralta, Brewers struggle vs. Braves amid rotation injuries

MILWAUKEE -- With all that’s going on around him in the starting rotation, the Brewers need the very best version of Freddy Peralta in the remaining 10 weeks of the regular season. And they were getting a better version before the right-hander ran into the roadblock that is the best-in-baseball Braves in Milwaukee’s 6-4 loss at American Family Field on Friday.

But Peralta can provide more. He remains sure of it.

“The biggest thing for me is stay healthy,” said Peralta, who missed much of last season with a shoulder injury. “Let’s see what is coming for me in the next 10-12 more starts and see how the year is going to end for me.

“I’m excited for that, to see what’s going to happen. We know we’re going to be in a good spot at the end of the season and we’re going to make the playoffs.”

To get there, the Brewers will have to continue squeezing the most out of a rotation that has been tested, to put it gently.

Brandon Woodruff, sidelined since mid-April by a muscle strain behind his right shoulder, is beginning a Minor League rehab assignment on Saturday. Promising left-hander Aaron Ashby is back at American Family Field this weekend to continue his own shoulder rehab but will ramp up as a reliever with hopes of pitching for Milwaukee by late August or early September.

Another lefty, Wade Miley, just landed back on the injured list with an elbow injury that he and the team hope is minor. Eric Lauer has not pitched in the Majors since May 20 and while he is no longer on the IL after dealing with a non-throwing shoulder issue, he is on Triple-A Nashville’s temporary inactive list. Lauer is currently in Arizona, but the club has not said when or whether he will pitch again this season.

So, established starters like Corbin Burnes and Peralta are critical to the coming weeks. Peralta fell to 6-8 with a 4.72 ERA after allowing six runs on six hits while throwing 97 pitches in five innings. Most of his pitches came after he threw nine pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning and Milwaukee’s offense spotted him a 2-0 lead.

The Brewers, still 10 games over .500 and leading the National League Central, fell to 9-10 in Peralta’s starts. Friday represented a step back after he allowed only a broken-bat infield single over six innings in his previous start in Cincinnati. Before that, Peralta hadn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since June 11 or more than four hits in a start since June 6.

“The biggest part for him is being aggressive and staying aggressive the whole outing,” catcher William Contreras said. “Throwing every pitch for a strike and throwing every pitch with a purpose. Not just throwing it to throw it.”

The slider eluded Peralta against Atlanta. He had Arcia in an 0-2 count in the second before missing the zone with a fastball and two sliders. That forced Peralta to throw a full-count fastball, which Arcia deposited over the left-center-field wall for the go-ahead home run.

And in the third against Riley, Peralta missed with a pair of sliders and came back with a fastball. Riley hit it out.

“That’s four runs,” manager Craig Counsell said. “That was the difference, really.”

The Brewers made it close in the ninth against Braves reliever Kirby Yates. With two outs, and no one on, Andruw Monasterio worked back from an 0-2 count to walk. Brice Turang walked to put the tying run on base. Then Blake Perkins worked an 11-pitch at-bat that included a close call on a line drive just foul over first base. Eventually, Perkins struck out looking to end the game.

The outcome left Peralta lamenting one additional mistake.

At the All-Star Game, Arcia said his phone filled with texts from old friends from Milwaukee after he was named to the NL’s starting lineup.

Was one of those texts from Peralta?

“No, I forgot,” Peralta said. “He was probably mad at me. You can tell [by] tonight.”