Following Peralta is tall order for short-handed 'pen 

PITTSBURGH -- Whatever was to happen at PNC Park on Friday night, manager Craig Counsell knew he wouldn’t be making many trips to the mound.

Brewers starter Freddy Peralta knew he would have to push the limits of his pitch count. And lefty Thomas Pannone, back in the big leagues for the first time in four years, knew that he was almost certain to get it next if Counsell did take the ball from Peralta.

All of those things came to pass and Brewers hitters put plenty of runs on the board. What would have been a satisfying, short-staffed win over the Pirates was within reach.

But the closer of the day, Matt Bush, fumbled away a two-run lead in the ninth, allowing Andrew McCutchen's ringing RBI double and Carlos Santana's two-run walk-off homer with two outs, which sailed over the right-field seats in the direction of the Allegheny River to seal an 8-7 Brewers loss.

“We got to where we wanted to,” Counsell said. “Just, the ninth didn’t go well.”

Counsell knew the series opener presented a slim margin for error. Hours before the first pitch, he put the Brewers’ bullpen situation like this: “There are very few decisions for me to make.”

That’s what happens when a team is already down one bullpen arm -- with Adrian Houser joining the rotation as a sixth starter for this stretch of 17 games in 17 days leading to the All-Star break -- and pushes its high-leverage arms to the limit.

Coming off winning two of three at Cleveland and three of four against the Mets in Queens, rising right-hander Elvis Peguero and left-hander Hoby Milner had each pitched five of the previous six days.

Closer Devin Williams had pitched four of the previous five days, including a high-stress save on Thursday that ended with the bases loaded. New setup man Joel Payamps had pitched three of the previous five days, including a multi-inning appearance.

Those are the Brewers’ four best relievers at the moment, and they were all down for the day.

Counsell had two relievers ready behind Peralta -- Pannone and Bush. Bryse Wilson was available only in an emergency, since Counsell wanted to save Wilson for multiple innings if needed against the Bucs on Saturday afternoon.

Someone, after all, will have to pitch if starter Corbin Burnes doesn’t cover all nine innings.

“We went for it in the Mets series,” Counsell said. “Used guys heavily. We need to get guys rest. … Matt Bush is on the roster. He hasn’t pitched in a while and he was fresh.

“It was his job to get the outs in the ninth and [he] just couldn't get it.”

Assessing Peralta’s outing was more nuanced. The right-hander started with three efficient innings and worked with a 4-0 lead after the Brewers’ station-to-station third. But Peralta suddenly lost the strike zone in a three-run fourth, a common problem in his big innings this season.

Peralta escaped with the lead, then delivered four more critical outs and topped out at 108 pitches, one shy of his career high, before handing off to Pannone in the sixth.

“I think that I’m very close,” Peralta said. “Mentally, I’m ready for the moment, for the good moment to come. I’m just trying to navigate and pass this. I’m doing my best and I know it’s coming soon.”

Peralta’s late effort put the game back in order. It remained so thanks to Pannone, who pitched 2 2/3 innings while allowing two runs, one aided by a Joey Wiemer misplay in center field.

Brewers hitters helped the cause with three insurance runs in the seventh so that Bush inherited a 7-5 lead for the bottom of the ninth.

Milwaukee acquired Bush amid a flurry of bullpen moves at the 2022 Trade Deadline to get big outs in the late innings, and he did so effectively for stretches of the second half last year.

But more and more, home runs have been a big problem. Bush surrendered six homers in his final 17 2/3 innings in 2022, then allowed four more in his first 7 2/3 innings of ‘23 before landing on the injured list in late April with a right shoulder injury.

Since returning to active duty earlier on this road trip, he’d pitched twice prior to Friday. He was working on five days’ rest.

“We haven’t got results,” Counsell said. “There was the injury; we haven’t got results this year, clearly. He definitely was effective at times last year, but the home run ball, it’s still an issue.

“It’s tough to be a late-inning reliever when the home run is an issue like that.”