GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- Brewers starter Chase Anderson, who is on the 10-day disabled list recovering from a left oblique strain, made his first rehab start with the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night.
While he was credited with the loss against Cedar Rapids, allowing one earned run on two hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings, Anderson believed the start was a step in the right direction.
"I felt great. It went good," Anderson said. "I tried to throw strikes. That was my main goal. Just to see how my stuff played against hitters. It was good to get into a game atmosphere, and I tried to get as far as I can with the amount of pitches I had tonight."
Anderson threw 47 pitches, 31 for strikes, and was able to use his full repertoire, including his curveball, changeup, fastball and cutter.
"He used an interesting pitch sequence in the first three innings," said Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson. "But it seemed like he was just trying to get a feel for all his pitches, and he did that. He used his whole arsenal."
For Anderson, returning to the Minor Leagues - especially the Midwest League, which he played in as a member of the D-backs in 2010 -- was a nice reminder of the route he took to get to the Majors.
"You don't want to be on rehab assignments, but it's fun to come and get the perspective of what these guys go through to remind you of what I went through to get to the point I'm at now," Anderson said. "It's very humbling."
Before getting injured during an at-bat against the Reds on June 28, Anderson was 6-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 16 starts for the Brewers this season. He shared some advice with many Timber Rattlers players, including his catcher, Nathan Rodriguez.
"All he told me was to give a good target," Rodriguez said. "That's one thing that really goes under the radar with catchers is giving a good target. You see a lot of catchers pulling down the glove before the release, but pitchers want a big target. So that's what I focused on today, and that's what I'm going to take forward."
Anderson said he will make a couple more rehab starts before returning to the Brewers. According to Erickson, Anderson's next two rehab starts will not be with Wisconsin; they will most likely be with Triple-A Colorado Springs. Manager Craig Counsell said he expects Anderson to rejoin the team in late August in San Francisco or Los Angeles.