Finding 'comfort' with Brewers, Winker contributes in return

SAN DIEGO – Back from a bout with bronchitis, Jesse Winker was having a productive day when he stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth inning on Saturday. He doubled home a run in the first inning, then took a pitch off the right arm with the bases loaded in the fourth to drive in the tying run. Now, Winker was batting with runners at second and third, two outs and the game still within reach as the Brewers trailed by two runs.

In a full count, Winker got a fastball at the top of the strike zone but beat it into the ground to second base. It was that kind of afternoon, mere hours after the Brewers set their season high for runs scored in a win Friday night.

On Saturday, the Brewers were 2-for-12 with men in scoring position while stranding 11 runners on base, and starter Freddy Peralta lacked the putaway pitch before the Padres pulled away late in Milwaukee’s 10-3 loss at Petco Park.

“We had bases loaded, multiple innings with guys on. Just missing that next hit,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

As for the powerful Padres, “A lot of credit to them,” Peralta said.

Winker and the Brewers spotted Peralta a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Peralta let it go in a sign of things to come. Over Peralta’s five innings of work, seven of the Padres’ nine hits came with two outs. All four of their run-scoring hits were also with two outs, culminating with Jake Cronenworth’s tie-breaking, two-run home run, which bounced off the top of the right-field wall and over -- the first of his two homers on the day.

The Brewers can still win the four-game series if they claim Sunday’s matchup between Wade Miley and Yu Darvish, and Winker’s return to regular duty should help boost the offense beyond that. Starting Monday, he will be one of the handful of Brewers who know their way around T-Mobile Park during Milwaukee’s first visit there in seven years.

Winker’s lone season with the Mariners in 2022 did not go well. That’s been documented. He posted a career-low .688 OPS. He played through knee and neck injuries that ultimately sidelined Winker for Seattle’s first postseason appearance in 21 years. And there were the rumblings that Winker wasn’t always the best teammate.

Is Winker feeling any hesitation about going back?

“It’s a very fair question,” he said. “Hesitation? No. Not hesitation, that’s not how I would say it. I would say I’m ready to go help the Brewers win a series. The fact that it’s there doesn’t really matter to me.

“How everything went down, I take responsibility for my part of it, obviously. My behavior and everything. But there’s no hesitation. This is part of the job; you’re going to go play different places, experience places, and all in all, my experience there was fine. I learned a lot. I believe in their system and I wish nothing but the best moving forward.”

He hasn’t spoken to anyone with the Mariners to share his side of things. Instead, Winker turned the page when he was traded with infielder Abraham Toro to the Brewers for Kolten Wong.

“To hang up on something that was said to me or how somebody felt, that’s not fair to myself and that’s not fair to my future teammates moving forward,” Winker said. “How I behaved, I have to take accountability for that, and I do. I didn’t handle things right. I let things in my personal life bleed into my work life. As a baseball player -- as a person, really -- that’s what you have to be able to control. I didn’t.

“But I learned better outlets. I learned how to communicate more to people who can help me. That’s the learning lesson in all of this, is having people you can lean on to help you.”

Winker chalked it up as a learning experience. He also got healthy again after undergoing surgery on his knee and neck -- he was off to a productive start for the Brewers before the illness knocked him back.

By Friday, he was able to take early batting practice and run around on the field, and reported feeling much better. On Saturday, after missing five games, he returned and was the only Brewers hitter with an extra-base hit and multiple RBIs.

“To sum this all up,” Winker said, “I’ve had a blast being here. It’s been really refreshing and the people here have been amazing. They’ve treated me so well so I’m thankful to be a Brewer. … Sometimes, man, you can’t beat comfort. Comfort is worth a lot.”