ST. LOUIS -- Adrian Houser is back with the Brewers and awaiting reinstatement from a COVID-19 injured list that is dwindling by the day.

Houser was the last of eight Brewers players to come down with COVID-19, and the last of nine Brewers players to land on the COVID-19 IL over a 12-day span in late July and early August. As of Tuesday’s series opener against the Cardinals, all nine players had been medically cleared to rejoin the team and only Houser and reliever Jandel Gustave were awaiting activation.

Both pitchers required some time to ramp-up after experiencing symptoms of the virus. Houser was hit relatively hard by fatigue and head congestion for the first 3-4 days of his IL stint, then lost his senses of taste and smell just as the other symptoms subsided. He was able to keep his arm in shape by throwing into a net delivered by teammate Josh Hader, and eventually threw a bullpen session into the net at Craig Counsell Field in Whitefish Bay, Wis. Gustave, meanwhile, was more idle during his IL stint because he was confined to a hotel room in Atlanta for most of it.

“The first couple of days it had me down,” Houser said. “By the fourth or fifth day, my energy was back and was able to start doing normal stuff. So, it was pretty quick, but the first couple of days I just did a lot of sleeping.”

Houser threw an extended bullpen session at Busch Stadium on the off-day Monday and could rejoin the rotation sometime in the Brewers’ next series against the Nationals at home.

“We’re getting him ready to pitch. He’s not there yet,” Counsell said. “We’ll put him through a whole week of work and see where we’re at.”

Gustave is also throwing and could throw a bullpen session this week in St. Louis. When the Brewers get home they will consider sending him out to an affiliate, Counsell said.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “I told you it was going to be a little longer with him because he was basically shut down from throwing for 12 days while being down with COVID. So, there is going to be a little more of a build-up process with him.”

Houser hopes this is the light at the end of the tunnel for the Brewers, who were essentially losing a player a day to the COVID-19 IL for a while.

“I want to be the last guy. Getting it out of the clubhouse would be good,” Houser said. “It happened real fast. Hopefully, it’s done now. ... The guys are plugging right in. It goes to show how guys are ready to play and step in when their time comes.”

Last call
-- The Brewers flipped Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta in the rotation primarily to keep Burnes, coming off a 15-strikeout performance against the Cubs, on the six-day rotation the team has employed most of this season. The side-effect was extra rest for Peralta, whose last start was on a sweltering afternoon at Wrigley Field last week, and who the Brewers have attempted to rest as much as possible as he continues to push his career high for innings.

-- Counsell on the impact of Willy Adames since his arrival in a trade with the Rays: “It’s well documented, our record since Willy arrived. He’s played really, really well, first and foremost. And then he plays with an energy that is really rare. There’s a skill to that. That’s leadership, really. A lot of times we label it as energy, I think it’s leadership. It’s helped. Leadership helps everybody. That’s what his presence has meant. We added a true leader to the team, and that helps everybody.”