Chacin's return offers 'something to build off'

SAN DIEGO -- Jhoulys Chacín returned to the Brewers’ rotation on Monday night. Clarity, however, did not.

A central question about the National League Central is this: Do the Brewers have enough starting pitching to ride to their second straight division crown?

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A healthy and effective Chacin would push the answer to that question toward the affirmative. But there were no absolutes forthcoming in the Brewers’ 2-0 loss to the Padres in the opener of a three-game series at Petco Park.

Is Chacin healthy after spending 16 days on the injured list with a lower back strain? The right-hander’s 102 pitches indicate he is. Is he able to pitch at a championship level? The fact he threw those 102 pitches in only 4 2/3 innings leaves that question to interpretation.

“I thought it was a nice return,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, “something to build off.”

Chacin struck out seven batters in his first outing since May 31 -- matching his season high from Opening Day -- and allowed only two runs. And one of those runs was set up by buzzard’s luck. Manny Machado’s ground ball up the middle in the first inning deflected off both Chacin’s glove and second-base umpire Chris Segal for a double that advanced Eric Hosmer from first base to third.

But Chacin walked three, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch that allowed Hosmer to score following the odd double. The Padres’ other run against Chacin came on Machado’s leadoff home run in the third inning.

Chacin fell behind in the count against 10 of the first 12 batters he faced, and the other two put the first pitch into play. But he also retired six straight batters in the third and fourth innings before tiring in the fifth.

“Overall, I feel good,” he said, “my fastball command got a bit better, and my slider got going.”

Ah, that slider. That’s what has Counsell choosing the optimistic interpretation of Chacin’s return. All seven strikeouts came via the slider, a pitch he threw 50 times Monday.

“His command kind of wavered early in the game,” Counsell said. “His last 50 pitches, I really liked how he threw the ball. Good, positive signs. The way the hitters reacted to the slider was a positive, as well.”

The rotation as a whole hasn’t offered a ton of positives lately. The starters have a 5.86 ERA in June. But the offense has averaged 5.2 runs a game in that time, allowing the Brewers to go 8-6 and stay perched atop the division.

But treading water won’t get the Brewers to their goal. They need improvement from the rotation, either internally or by looking for a starter before the July 31 Trade Deadline. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez, sidelined with arm fatigue, is expected to throw a bullpen session Tuesday, but whether he’ll be stretched out and productive by the All-Star break is yet another question.

So Counsell can be forgiven for finding answers in Chacin’s slider with only a few innings of evidence.

Chacin is throwing the slider more than 50 percent of the time this year. And he had held opponents to a .184 batting average on the pitch entering Monday, per Statcast. But that number actually is higher for Chacin than any season since 2012.

In going 15-8 last season with a 3.50 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, Chacin held opponents to a .158 batting average on the slider. This year, Chacin is 3-8 with a 5.60 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. A darned good slider isn’t enough -- he needs his wipeout slider.

“It’s my pitch,” he said. “I throw it a lot in every game. I really need that pitch.”

As Chacin was finding his rhythm, Padres starter Joey Lucchesi, a left-hander who offers a funky, stop-and-start delivery, threw seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and three walks and struck out five.

Only once did the Brewers put a runner into scoring position against him. That didn’t come until the sixth inning, when Christian Yelich doubled to left field with two outs. Lucchesi then caught Ryan Braun looking at a sinker at the knees on a full count.

“There is some deception from that delivery,” Counsell said of Lucchesi. “He throws from a very high arm slot, and it makes that changeup good. It makes his fastball down good. His fastball down has some carry on it, and it stays in the zone.

“His deception is definitely part of who he is. Hitters don’t like what they don’t see. He is something you don’t see regularly.”

An opposing pitcher on his game is something Counsell knows is inevitable now and then. He’s more concerned about what he’ll see every fifth or sixth day on his side. Chacin took one step toward easing those concerns.