MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers starter Freddy Peralta walked out of the fourth inning of an 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals with shoulder strains on Sunday.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Peralta will have an MRI on Monday and go on the injured list.
“Hopefully it’s not that big or crazy, but it’s part of the game,” Peralta said. “Lets see what happens.”
Peralta (3-2) left the team after allowing Lane Thomas a run-scoring double in the fourth inning during the Nationals’ six-run breakout.
“I thought in the second inning he didn’t have the same life on his fastball,” said Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez. “In the third inning I went out to see how he was feeling. … I asked him how he was feeling, and he said he was a little tense. I told him there was no point in trying to be the hero so early in the season.”
Washington’s six runs in the fourth marked the most productive inning of the season and equaled the largest run total the Brewers conceded in a single inning that year. Peralta, a 2021 All-Star, entered the day after allowing just one 12 2/3-inning run in his previous two starts.
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The Nationals started the day after losing seven of their last nine, and they had totaled six runs in their seven losses. But they had an early 8-0 lead on Sunday and drove to victory in their last game before starting a seven-game home stand.
“Maybe that will trigger something and we can get some wins here in the next few weeks and get back on track,” said Thomas.
Milwaukee pulled nobody back in the fourth until Nelson Cruz — the inning’s eighth batter — was kicked out when he tried to stretch a bloop single into a double along the right-field line. The first eight batters of the Nationals of the inning all hit, setting a Washington franchise record for consecutive one-hit plate appearances.
“I think when guys have momentum, they throw strikes,” Thomas said. “I think we were just aggressive in the middle of the plate seats. That was my game plan. Pretty good fastball. It plays out a bit.
The Brewers begin a 10-day, 11-game journey Monday in San Diego. Adrian Houser (3-4) starts for Milwaukee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.