CHICAGO -- The Brewers’ choice of who to start Game 4 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field on Thursday was also the obvious one: Right-hander Freddy Peralta.
But it didn’t go to plan from the very first inning of a 6-0 loss to the Cubs, and now the Brewers find themselves facing elimination in a series they once led, two games to none, with their two most reliable starters having pitched in Games 3 and 4.
Who goes Game 5 is anyone’s guess at this point.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who’s going to start, I don’t know what the pitching plans are,” Brewers catcher William Contreras said. “But I know whoever is needed will be ready to go and ready to pitch that game. If we need to start [closer Abner] Uribe, I’m sure Uribe will be ready to make that start.”
The Brewers will be cobbling together a plan to get 27 outs during Friday’s off-day, a program that will almost certainly have to include right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, the rookie flamethrower who was so impressive for three innings of Game 2.
Lefty Aaron Ashby started that game as an opener, with Nick Mears providing relief when Ashby found trouble and then Misiorowski taking over in a clean inning. A similar setup could work for Game 5, though Ashby and another lefty, Robert Gasser, both pitched in Game 4. Ashby threw 32 pitches.
Lefty Jared Koenig has experience as an opener and could work as one of the pitchers the Brewers stayed away from in Game 4. Uribe is the Brewers’ most rested leverage reliever, having pitched only once so far in the series in Game 2.
As for Misiorowski, can he handle the spotlight of a must-win game on a national stage?
“It’s going to be fun,” Misiorowski said. “It’s always fun, whenever I pitch. I’ll be ready to go.”
The Brewers hoped it would never get to this point. Peralta, the Brewers’ Opening Day starter who led the team in starts, innings, ERA and strikeouts, started -- and won -- Game 1 against the Cubs in Milwaukee. And he was pitching on the standard four days’ rest thanks to the extra off day between Games 1 and 2 in this series.
That made Peralta a relatively straightforward pick, although the Brewers’ decision to delay an announcement with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series left open the possibility of someone else trying to close out the Cubs in Game 4, while preserving Peralta for Game 1 of the NLCS in the best-case scenario, or for a Game 5 at home on Saturday in the worst.
“You think about everything this time of year,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You just want to win. With our starting pitching the way it is right now -- we're limping in with the starting pitching. It hasn't been our strong point.
“But we're playing to win it all. We're all in to win it all. In order to have Freddy for sure for two times in the next series, it was imperative -- best available pitcher, let's go.”
Unfortunately for the Brewers, Cubs hitters -- and Cubs fans -- were ready to go. Peralta had just put his first out on the scoreboard when fans began chanting his name, “FRED-DY, FRED-DY,” and the cadence grew louder as Nico Hoerner singled and Kyle Tucker walked on four pitches.
“You kind of wonder how that starts,” Hoerner said with a laugh. “It made me think of the [Johnny] Cueto chants back in Pittsburgh a long time ago. That’s the only thing I could relate that to. Our fans are incredible. They're into the game from the very first pitch. We’re so grateful to have a home field like this.”
Peralta said of the chanting: “For me it was fine. I kind of like those moments. It makes me better whenever I feel those moments.”
Peralta got a big strikeout of Seiya Suzuki to put the Brewers one out from their first scoreless first inning in the series when Peralta gave Ian Happ a fastball he could handle. The longest-tenured Cub hammered a three-run homer, giving the Cubs a home run in every first inning of this series so far.
“It was a little different, I think, from pitch one today, even crazier than yesterday,” Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “Me and ‘JT’ [Justin Turner] looked at each other when they started chanting Freddy's name, that was a first for me. The fact that Freddy still [could] go out there and put up [four innings] on the board is impressive, because they were loud. We keep talking about this, it's like having a 10th player out there.”
Peralta did rebound from the three-run first inning by keeping the Cubs at bay through the end of the fourth, but was done at 84 pitches. Peralta and other Brewers pitchers have benefitted from extra rest in recent years, as doing that has become more the norm. More than half of Peralta’s 33 starts came on five days’ rest, and while the ERAs were similar, he benefited in other areas.
Four days' rest
• 17 starts
• 5-2, 2.59 ERA
• .235/.317/.329
• .646 OPS
Five days’ rest
• 17 starts
• 10-2, 2.65 ERA
• .170/.257/.339
• .597 OPS
Six-plus days’ rest
• Four starts
• 2-2, 3.22 ERA
• .165/.239/.266
• .504 OPS
Peralta has been money in Milwaukee, going 10-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a .573 opponents’ OPS at American Family Field in 18 starts this season, including Game 1, when he matched the Brewers’ postseason record with nine strikeouts. That’s compared to 8-5 with a 3.71 ERA and a .649 OPS on the road.
The present moment, however, made Peralta a clear pick -- even if the game is in Chicago. Because Game 1 of the NLCS is not until Monday, he could still theoretically start Games 2 and 5 on four days’ rest should the Brewers advance to the next round, and he would be available in relief for a potential Game 7 on two days’ rest if the Brewers really want to push it.
“I think this time of year he understands what we're doing,” Murphy said. “Best foot forward, and deal with tomorrow tomorrow. But best foot forward today. Can he go on four [days’ rest]? The answer is yes. Does he want to pitch? Yes. Bam. Does he understand the big picture? Yes.”