Brewer right-handed Freddie Peralta had to pull out of today’s game in the fourth inning due to a strain in his right shoulder. Manager Craig Counsel told reporters (including Andrew Wagner) will be placed on the injured list and an MRI tomorrow will reveal more about Peralta’s condition.
There was something wrong with Peralta throughout the game as he allowed five runs from six goals over his three-plus innings in today’s Brewers 8-2 loss to the Nationals. Only two of those runs came in Peralta’s first three frames, but after Peralta allowed the first three batsmen to hit in the fourth inning, Peralta left the game after a hilltop visit from the team coach.
Peralta also missed about two weeks from the end of last season with an infection in the same shoulder. That IL visit was pretty much the only blemish in an otherwise great year for the righties, as Peralta posted a 2.81 ERA, 33.6% strikeout rate, and 9.0 walk rate over 144 1/3 innings .7% recorded. This earned Peralta his first All-Star appearance and also cemented his place in Milwaukee’s rotation after working primarily as a part-time starter or swingman role during his first three major league seasons.
The Brewers will no doubt miss Peralta while he recovers, especially as the club are set to play 15 games over the next fortnight. However, the Brew Crew is one of the few teams with a rotation deep enough to potentially survive the loss Aaron Ashby is available to fill Peralta’s spot in the starting XI. Counsell confirmed the team would remain on a five-man rotation, so a starter will be needed at some point in this busy stretch of the schedule (likely when the Brewers take on the Cubs in a May 30 doubleheader).