Harrison helped by Contreras' no-nonsense feedback in strong Brewers debut

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers newcomer Kyle Harrison learned early on Monday that catcher William Contreras isn’t messing around when the games matter.

“It was awesome, from starting off in the bullpen and him ripping [throws] back at me,” Harrison said.

That’s one of Contreras’ trademarks, as fans saw on a couple of occasions during the Brewers’ 3-2 loss to the Rays on Monday at American Family Field in Harrison’s team debut. When Contreras doesn’t like a pitcher’s execution or intent, he is known to fire the baseball back to the mound with a ferocity matching an incoming pitch.

And it turns out that habit is not limited to in-game.

“He wants that consistency, and that’s everything in pitching,” Harrison said. “Tunneling, all of that. He gets it. It’s just awesome having conviction back there. … Maybe he’s just got a rocket of an arm back there. But he’ll hold you accountable, that’s for sure.”

That’s the idea.

“That’s why I’m a catcher, to help my pitcher,” Contreras said.

Has any of Contreras’ pitchers ever been surprised when their catcher fires a fastball his way?

“They know already,” Contreras said. “They have to throw a strike. The next pitch has to be a strike.”

Harrison and Contreras had a lot to be happy about on Monday, even though the Brewers’ bid for a 162-0 season came to an end in Game No. 4. Harrison, the 24-year-old left-hander acquired on the eve of Spring Training in the six-player trade that sent Caleb Durbin to Boston, rebounded from a leadoff home run to strike out eight over five promising innings. And Contreras hit a two-run shot for his first home run of the season, briefly giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead in the sixth.

That lead turned into a 2-2 tie on a Jonny DeLuca homer off Aaron Ashby in the seventh inning, and a 3-2 deficit in the ninth when Trevor Megill walked DeLuca with two outs and paid a price. Nick Fortes ambushed a first-pitch fastball way above the zone for a run-scoring double that decided the game.

“Look, that Brewer team is very good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “That starting pitcher, Harrison, I mean, he's very talented. He had a fastball going that, I felt like we knew it was coming and probably didn't have the answer for it. And then their bullpen is pretty electric. It doesn't matter who they bring out there.

“So, I’m very happy that our pitchers were able to keep it close. And then we find that one big hit."

The night began with a big hit at the expense of Harrison, who spent all spring working on a kick change, only to see Rays leadoff man Yandy Diaz send one over the fence for an early deficit.

But unlike Brandon Sproat (Brewers No. 5 prospect, MLB Pipeline No. 97), who served up a grand slam before getting the first out of his Milwaukee debut on Sunday, Harrison rebounded to allow that lone run on four hits and one walk, while striking out eight on 87 pitches.

He induced 16 swings and misses, a career high for his 43 Major League appearances and 38 starts.

“He did a really good job rebounding there after the first hitter,” Contreras said. “A big part of my job there is to help him mentally to stay engaged. I think there was a stretch there where he lost command a little bit, but he was able to get it back and make adjustments. That’s what the game is all about.”

“I think that little bit of experience he’s had has helped [Harrison] understand what he was involved with,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I thought he did a really nice job.”

Harrison felt more comfortable with his changeup and slider as the game progressed, which was a good sign, since his road to the regular season very briefly detoured at the end of camp when he developed a blister on his middle finger from throwing the changeup.

It was one of those little things a pitcher endures when developing a new pitch. Because of the way he was following through on changeups, his fingernail was digging into his thumb and causing a cut. So, he cut his fingernail. But he cut it too far, and that led to a blister.

A couple of weeks later, “that’s all in the rear-view mirror,” Harrison said.

“I think we got it figured out, nail-wise,” he said. “We’ll keep those nails strong. I wouldn’t have thought that, but I might need to get a manicure soon. We’ll see.”