Grieving Guerra leaning on Crew teammates

MILWAUKEE -- After saying his goodbyes last week in Venezuela, Brewers reliever Junior Guerra will remain with the team following his father’s passing on Friday.

The Brewers’ clubhouse, usually filled with music after victories, was silent Friday night out of respect for Simon Jose Guerra, who included his son’s uniform No. 41 in his Instagram handle. Guerra learned of his father’s death after pitching a scoreless inning in the Brewers’ 3-1 win over the Mets, and Guerra’s wife, Erika, shared the news via social media on Friday, saying Jose had mounted an “amazing” fight to the end against cancer.

Guerra went right back to work Saturday, when the Brewers asked for a six-out save with lefty Josh Hader unavailable. Guerra breezed through a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a 2-1 lead, but he saw it slip away in the ninth when Pete Alonso hit a first-pitch breaking ball for a tying home run to right field. Guerra bounced back to retire the next three hitters to send the game toward extra innings. Ultimately, Milwaukee would prevail, 4-3, on Ryan Braun's walk-off single in the 18th.

“I thought Junior threw the ball great,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “Alonso is a really nice-looking young hitter; he took a breaking ball and went opposite field. I tip my hat to that. Junior came back and made good pitches to the next three hitters. It was a great effort for Junior considering what's transpired in the last 24 hours.”

Last week, Guerra traveled home to spend a few days with his ailing father.

“It was his wish to see his father while he was alive,” said Counsell. “That was more important to him, and I'm so happy he made that decision and came to us with that, because for him, it was the perfect and right thing to do.”

Saturday's ninth inning letdown aside, Guerra has been a vital piece of Counsell’s bullpen this season in the wake of Corey Knebel’s season-ending elbow injury and Jeremy Jeffress’ slow start because of a shoulder issue. After his clean inning Friday, Guerra had a 2.08 ERA and 10 of his first 13 appearances had been scoreless.

Yelich 'close' to starting lineup

Sidelined all week by a stiff lower back, Christian Yelich missed a sixth straight start on Saturday but said, “I feel good,” and that he was “getting closer.” He took a full round of batting practice on the field for the second straight day. In the 10th inning, Counsell called upon Yelich to pinch-hit. Yelich smashed a sharp liner that was caught by Brandon Nimmo for the first out.

“We just have to have good days in a row,” Counsell said. “I think he's really close. This is day two on the field, so I think he's really close. [But] he's not going to go out on the field with back pain. He's going to be feeling good when he gets back.”

Counsell said the pitching matchup would not factor into the timing of Yelich’s return to the starting lineup. The Mets have left-hander Jason Vargas scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale before a three-game set at home against the Nationals, who are set to feature three straight righties: Max Scherzer on Monday, Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday and Jeremy Hellickson on Wednesday.

Suter stops by

Left-hander Brent Suter moved his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery from Brewers Fields of Phoenix to Miller Park for the weekend, part of the Brewers’ plan to keep injured players connected throughout the season. Knebel (Tommy John surgery) and Bobby Wahl (ACL surgery) are also expected to visit throughout the summer.

Suter said players have been getting together for watch parties in Arizona to keep tabs on the big league team.

“I’m a couple weeks out from throwing off a mound,” Suter said. “It’s feeling really good so far. I try to not even look at the calendar for the month and just do one day at a time. I do what they tell me that day without getting too far ahead.”

He remains optimistic about pitching for the Brewers this season. Suter’s surgery, which typically requires a 12-month rehab, was on July 31.

“I don’t know when the exact timeline is. I was hoping that July [or] August mark,” Suter said. “I think if I get off the mound [soon], that’s in range.”

Nelson set for rehab assignment

Right-hander Jimmy Nelson is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A San Antonio on Sunday, one week after his original assignment was delayed by the early birth of twins. Nelson spent the week at home in Houston with his wife, Melissa, who had navigated a challenging pregnancy before delivering Riley James and Naomi Lynn, three pounds and 10 ounces each, on April 28.

The outing will be Nelson’s first regular-season baseball game since he injured his right shoulder diving back to first base at Wrigley Field on Sept. 8, 2017. Nelson made two appearances in Spring Training before heading to the 10-day injured list with right elbow soreness.