The Brewers’ pitching rotation coming out of the All-Star break reflected priority No. 1 in the second half: Keep these starters at the top of their game.

Adrian Houser was the surprise choice to start Friday night against the Reds as Brewers continued their policy of a day’s extra rest for Brandon Woodruff by holding him for the second game of the second half on Saturday. Corbin Burnes was slotted to follow on Sunday, and the Brewers’ other All-Star starter, Freddy Peralta, who struck out the side in a sparkling inning of the Midsummer Classic but is poised to blow past his career high for innings, is on hold until the Brewers’ third series following the break late next week against the White Sox.

“We're going to give Freddy a little break here,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

Like all clubs, the Brewers are cognizant of the potential hazards ahead for pitchers in the dog days of a 162-game season following the pandemic-shortened 2020. Different clubs have adopted different strategies to navigate those hazards so far; for Milwaukee, the answer has been an extra day of rest between outings, which necessitated a sixth starter for much of the stretch of 33 games in 34 days leading to the All-Star break.

One cannot argue with the results. Brewers starters were fourth in MLB with a 3.23 ERA, a 27.6 percent strikeout rate and a 1.10 WHIP in the first half and virtually tied with the Dodgers for best in baseball with a .206 opponents’ average. Among Brewers pitchers all-time who logged at least 85 innings before an All-Star break, Woodruff had the second-best ERA (2.06), Burnes the fifth-best (2.36) and Peralta the sixth-best (2.39).

Now, Counsell and his coaches are discussing how to handle a different kind of stretch of the schedule, one filled with off-days. The Brewers have three open dates in their second half schedule before playing their ninth game, and are pondering a series of possibilities that includes skipping a turn for certain starters, a “tandem” in which two starters share a game, or simply extra rest between outings.

“It's great to look at where you are, it's more like, 'How are we going to make it through being successful for the long term?’ That's what this has all been about,” Counsell said. “This is about getting seven months' worth. And so that's been the focus since Day 1, is seven months of pitching. Every decision is kind of, you balance that -- obviously every game is important -- but I think getting them through seven months is really the most important thing to think about here.

"There's not necessarily a known right answer, that we have a book to use to figure that out, but I think what we've done so far for the starters has helped them feel fresh every time they take the mound.”

First base Jace
The Brewers traded for Rowdy Tellez to replace the thump of injured first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, but it was Jace Peterson starting at first base on Friday night as the second half got underway. Peterson was one of Milwaukee’s most productive hitters while filling in for injured second baseman Kolten Wong, and earned a spot somewhere in the lineup when Wong was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Friday.

“I think first base, you're going to see some different names in there, but Jace had a really good offensive first half and I think we're acknowledging that, for sure,” Counsell said. “All three of those guys [Peterson, Tellez and Keston Hiura] are going to be involved and Jace is going to be moving around the field a little bit more as we talked about with Kolten back. But I think he's still going to be in there.”

Last call
• How did Counsell spend his All-Star break? We know he was at NBA Finals Game 4 on Thursday night to witness a thrilling Bucks comeback over the Suns to even the series at 2-2. Counsell, a regular at Bucks games, described the experience as “a thrill.”

“Anytime you can put yourself in that environment, that’s why we’re sports fans,” he said. “That’s the best thing I’d say. It’s easy to turn into a fan when you’re at that game. I enjoyed it immensely. Just the intensity of the game was fun to see; the intensity of the crowd the whole game was fun to see. For them to come out with a win; they were down a vast majority of the game. And Devin Booker was not making it look good for a whole bunch of the game. I was glad I was there, I know that. I was glad to be able to see it. We’re all going to be taking peeks the next couple of days when they play.”

• Speaking of a thrill, Counsell knows firsthand what it means to grow up in Wisconsin and then play for the Brewers. That’s the possibility ahead for the team’s third-round Draft pick, Alex Binelas of Oak Creek, Wis.

“He played his youth baseball with the same club team that my sons play for,” Counsell said. “I know my sons have been texting with him and congratulating him. So, it’s a thrill being drafted by the team you grew up watching. In fact, I heard he was at American Family Field a bunch last week watching games. So, I think he’s thrilled. I know that. I’m anxious to watch his progress, for sure.”