Kolten Wong was back atop the Brewers' lineup and made his presence felt at second base on Friday night at Coors Field. This time, he hopes he took the right steps to ensure that it’s for good.

After recovering from his second stint on the injured list this season for a strained left oblique, Wong was reinstated by the club amid a flurry of roster moves on Friday afternoon. For the Brewers, it meant the return of their leadoff hitter to a lineup that again had fallen into a funk, held to four total runs while being swept by the Reds from Monday-Wednesday, then held to four hits in a 7-3 loss to the Rockies on Thursday night. It also meant the return of a Gold Glove-caliber defender at second base as Corbin Burnes took the mound for Friday's 6-5 Brewers' loss in 10 innings.

Two innings in, Wong made one of the Brewers’ best defensive plays of the year. With the bases loaded, two outs and Burnes in a 1-0 deficit, Wong ranged right for Charlie Blackmon’s bouncer, threw across his body at full speed and delivered a perfect strike to Daniel Vogelbach for the inning-ending out. In the next half-inning, Luis Urías promptly tied the game with a solo homer.

“As soon as I caught it, I knew my only play was at first,” Wong said, “so I just tried to make a good, strong throw and put it on a dime for Vogey.”

Wong also led off the game with a single on a 1-for-5 night. He was denied a big moment in the ninth inning when he hit a hard grounder to second with the bases loaded, one out and the infield playing in. The Rockies got an out at home and denied the Brewers the lead.

The good news, however, was that Wong is healthy again.

“I definitely felt better earlier than I thought,” Wong said. “It was one of those things where I kind of injured the same area but it wasn’t the exact same injury. I wanted to take it easy, but going through all the tests and really pushing myself to make sure this injury wasn’t going to come up again, I passed [the tests] with flying colors. I was excited to get back out there knowing I could play with no limitations.”

He even tested himself on check swings, which isn’t easy to do because it’s so reactionary. That’s how Wong was injured both times.

“I had one of our hitting coaches stand behind the bubble during BP yelling, ‘No!’” Wong said. “It’s one of those things where he’s yelling it at the very last minute, so you have to check your swing. I kind of swung after the check swing so that’s a good test, too.”

When Wong went on the injured list on June 4 with the same injury that sidelined him for two weeks at the end of April and early May, there was some thought that he’d be down longer this time in order to prevent another relapse.

But in the end, it was a nearly an identical stint.

“I think if I said that it’s because it was the second time and we didn’t have any information on the severity of the injury,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We got an MRI and understood the severity of it the first couple days, and the time frame was what we expected.

“We’re adding a good player. Luis [Urías, who had been filling in as the leadoff man but slid down to the seven-hole with Wong’s return] has been doing a good job. He’s been swinging the bat well and doing what he’s been doing all year. We’re adding a player that’s good on both sides of the ball and need in the lineup on a daily basis and have counted on him being in the lineup on a daily basis, so it’s good to have him back.”

Strickland settling in
So far, so good for veteran right-hander Hunter Strickland, who pitched a second scoreless appearance in relief on Thursday night against the Rockies. The Brewers, who demoted right-hander Eric Yardley again on Friday and are looking for more bullpen depth behind Devin Williams and Josh Hader, hope they have something in Strickland, whom they acquired in a cash deal with the Angels over the weekend.

“He's been with three different big league teams already this year. So, that means there's stuff to like and he's had some struggles, you know?” Counsell said. “[That is the] nature of that, right? I think there's some things that he's trying to do, and we're trying to help him do, to get him consistent and to help him.

“That's a little bit of a process. You try not to evaluate it necessarily outing to outing, but give him a plan to move forward and see where it goes. I think he's throwing strikes, and again, he's another guy that he's been out there, he's not going to get rattled, and it kind of comes down to executing some pitches and then figuring out some plans of how he wants to attack the left-handers and right-handers.”

Last call
• Keston Hiura has been hitting since his second demotion to Triple-A Nashville, but the Brewers are intent on giving him a lot more at-bats there this time before considering a return. Said Counsell: “That's one that deserves some space. I think it's better to give that one some space. If you want to hear something real and maybe different, than we've got to get that one some space.”

• With Father’s Day right around the corner, Adrian Houser said he was happy to get to spend some time with his dad, Mike, during the Brewers’ last homestand. Houser’s parents still live in the house in Oklahoma where Adrian grew up.

“My dad basically is the reason for my baseball career,” he said. “He was a big baseball fan growing up, played some college ball. He’s the one who really got me hooked on it. Until I was drafted, he was the only pitching coach I had in my entire life. I never had any lessons or anything like that. It was just him and I working out in the front yard, going to a baseball field anytime we could. So, he was a huge contributor and factor in my baseball career and my life.”