MILWAUKEE -- It was another frustrating ending to a start on Sunday for Brandon Sproat, but the Brewers' 25-year-old rookie right-hander continues to show enough positive signs that manager Pat Murphy scoffed at any suggestion that he’d be removed from the rotation.
Sproat, part of a core of young pitchers for the Brewers, recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in the Brewers' 5-1 loss to the Dodgers, but he once again couldn’t get through the fifth inning.
“He’s so good, when’s he good, that it gives you hope,” Murphy said. “He was facing a great lineup. He’s done some great things for us already this year. In no way, shape or form are we considering getting him out of there. This guy’s got a chance to be a high-end starter. He’s a rookie. Rookies are going to go through that. He has such upside.”
The Brewers acquired Sproat from the Mets, along with infielder/outfielder Jett Williams, in a January trade that sent ace Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to New York.
Sproat entered this season as the No. 5 prospect in the Brewers organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
Murphy noted that stellar second-year starter Jacob Misiorowski also struggled to gain his footing during his rookie season in 2025.
“We lived through some of this last year with Miz, too,” the Brewers skipper said. “But Sproat shows some brilliance.”
Even so, Murphy admitted that Sproat’s outing against the potent Dodgers lineup “wasn’t ideal.”
After Brewers pitchers walked a season-high 11 batters on Saturday night, it was much of the same story when Sproat walked Shohei Ohtani to start Sunday’s game. Sproat also gave up a two-out double to Kyle Tucker, but got out of the first unscathed.
Sproat walked a pair of batters in the second but again managed to escape thanks to two strikeouts.
After retiring the side in order in the third with two more strikeouts, Sproat navigated through trouble again in the fourth, surrendering a pair of singles before plunking No. 9 hitter Miguel Rojas, which loaded the bases for Ohtani. A wild pitch by Sproat brought home the Dodgers’ first run, but Ohtani grounded out to first to end the inning as Sproat once again averted disaster.
The fifth inning proved to be the rookie’s undoing.
Mookie Betts led off with an infield single before Freddie Freeman drew a walk, forcing Sproat from the game. Kyle Tucker followed with a triple off reliever Shane Drohan to drive in two runs, both charged to Sproat. Andy Pages then hit a two-run homer off Drohan to push the lead to 5-1.
Sproat, who took a shutout into the fifth inning in his previous start against the Cubs before encountering trouble, made his eighth start of the season. He gave up four hits and three runs in four-plus innings. He walked four to go along with the seven strikeouts and threw a season-high 89 pitches (58 strikes).
His record fell to 1-3 on the season.
“Not walk guys. Simple as that,” Sproat said, when asked what he needs to do to go deeper in games. “I didn’t do my job again today. Four walks, that’s really what it comes down to. I was able to manage through the walks early, but the last one in the fifth was the final straw.”
Murphy, too, pointed out that walks have plagued Sproat and others in recent starts, including Saturday night’s starter Robert Gasser, who also surrendered four walks in the Brewers' 11-3 blowout loss. Gasser was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday morning.
Despite the frustration, Sproat said there’s much to be learned each time he takes the mound.
“Every outing, whether it’s good or bad, is an outing you can learn from,” he said. “Today, the strikeouts are good, but on the flip side, four walks raise the pitch count. It wasn’t ideal. But getting to 89 pitches is a positive.”
After taking the first game in the series with a 5-1 win on Friday night -- giving the Brewers nine consecutive regular-season wins over the Dodgers -- Milwaukee dropped the next two to end a run of four straight series wins (Yankees, Padres, Twins and Cubs).
Sunday’s loss to the Dodgers had a tone very similar to the four straight losses the Brewers suffered at the hands of Los Angeles in last season’s NLCS, with the Brewers mounting few threats against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings.
“Yamamoto was efficient. He kept attacking,” Murphy said. “We just couldn’t string hits together.”