After shaky 1st, Peralta settles in for quality win

MILWAUKEE -- One of these days, Freddy Peralta will figure out how to get through the first inning efficiently.
But with the way Peralta recovers after those opening frames, the Brewers are more than willing to be patient with the 22-year-old rookie right-hander.
Peralta spun another gem on Saturday night, bouncing back from a 31-pitch opening inning to hold Colorado to just two hits and two walks while striking out eight over six innings in the Brewers' 8-4 victory at Miller Park.
"I've been working hard the last couple of starts," Peralta said. "It's something that's going to take time, but I'm making adjustments."

Peralta came into his 10th career start with a 7.00 ERA in the first inning, with four doubles and seven walks. He got in trouble quickly against the Rockies, who put two on with one out after DJ LeMahieu drew a walk and Peralta drilled Nolan Arenado with a pitch. He struck out Carlos González, and Trevor Story flied out to center, ending the threat. The Brewers' offense then did Peralta a big favor in the bottom of the inning with a six-run outburst against Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson.
A grand slam by Travis Shaw, followed by a solo homer from Hernán Pérez, highlighted the inning. Staked to a 6-0 lead, Peralta was able to hit the reset button as he came out for the second.
"It gives you more confidence," Peralta said of the offensive support. "I just told myself to forget about the first inning and start [over] with the [second]."

Peralta retired nine straight batters before Gonzalez drew a one-out walk in the fourth, with his only real mistake a 0-1 fastball over the plate for Story, who blasted it to straightaway center to make it a 7-2 game.
Again, Peralta recovered quickly. He retired his next two batters to get out of the inning without further damage and faced the minimum over his final two frames before handing things over to the bullpen.
"Once Freddy locked into his delivery after the first inning, he was excellent," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "He started pumping strikes, and they didn't square up many balls. They hit a lot of balls up in the air, and he got a lot of easy outs."

The Rockies became the first team Peralta has faced twice in his short big league career. He made his debut against Colorado with a May 13 spot start at Coors Field, where he struck out 13 batters over 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
Peralta's four-seam fastball did most of the damage in that outing and was again his favorite weapon on Saturday, with all eight of his strikeouts coming via the four-seamer.
"I talked with my pitching coach [Derek Johnson] and [catcher Manny] Pina about that before the game," Peralta said. "They said, 'Let's keep it the same and see what happens.'
"It was a good game plan."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Nursing an 8-2 lead in the ninth inning, Matt Albers surrendered Story's second two-run homer of the night. After Gerardo Parra bunted for a hit, Joakim Soria took over on the mound and gave up an Ian Desmond double and Chris Iannetta walk to load the bases. Soria struck out pinch-hitter Tom Murphy before Josh Hader relieved him and got Charlie Blackmon to pop out to second and end the ballgame.

SCHOOP'S FIRST HIT WITH THE CREW  
Jonathan Schoop couldn't have picked a better time for his first hit as a member of the Brewers. With two on and one out in the opening inning, Schoop singled on a line drive to right, snapping an 0-for-12 skid that included eight strikeouts since he was acquired from Baltimore at the Trade Deadline. The hit loaded the bases for Ryan Braun, whose RBI single made it a 1-0 game, and set the stage for Shaw's grand slam. Braun would later homer in the third.
"It felt good to get that first hit out of the way," Schoop said. "I just wanted to get that first one."

SOUND SMART
Christian Yelich collected three more hits, including a pair of doubles, to raise his batting average to a National League-best .326 on the season. Yelich has had at least one hit in 23 of his last 25 games, batting .439 (47-for-107) during that stretch with six home runs and 24 RBIs.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Shaw's grand slam had a 43-degree launch angle, which marked his highest career homer, since Statcast™ began tracking in 2015. It also tied for the Brewers' highest launch angle on a long ball this season.

HE SAID IT
"Yeli's hitting everybody right now. He's hitting the ball hard, he's going to the gap. He's just making really good contact. It's been an impressive streak. You see good hitters around the league, but this stretch, it's one you kind of marvel at." -- Counsell, on Yelich's three-hit night that included two off southpaw Anderson
UP NEXT
Left-hander Wade Miley takes the mound at 1:10 p.m. CT on Sunday as the Brewers go for their seventh sweep of the season. Miley is 7-2 with a 3.79 ERA in 12 career starts and one relief appearance against Colorado and is coming off his best start of the season. He held the Dodgers to two hits over seven innings in a 1-0 victory last Tuesday. Jon Gray goes for the Rockies.