All-Star closer Knebel tweaks left knee

Righty summoned trainers after slipping on mound in seventh inning Saturday

March 11th, 2018

PHOENIX -- The Brewers got a scare Saturday afternoon when All-Star closer summoned trainers to the mound in the top of the seventh inning of a 9-2 victory over the Rockies.
With a light rain falling, Knebel slipped on the mound and tweaked his left knee. He walked off the mound without a limp, and manager Craig Counsell said the injury appeared to be minor.
"Yeah, he's fine," Counsell said. "He just slipped a little on the mound. Just precautionary. It's very minor. We're all right. Precautionary as much as anything."
Knebel was scheduled for two off days before his next appearance, and it could be a day or two before the Brewers know if he misses even one scheduled appearance.
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"I don't think so," Counsell said when asked if Knebel would miss time. "We'll see. Not planning on it. We'll treat him [Sunday]. He's got a couple of days off anyway, so we'll see."
Suter sharp again
Left-hander breezed through four shutout innings in his bid to get one of the final rotation spots. In eight official spring innings, he has allowed no runs and only two singles.
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"It was definitely crisper today, another building block towards getting where I want to be," Suter said. "Still behind the count more than I would like probably, but it's definitely something to build on. Our offense erupted early [with four first-inning runs], and it was a fun day."
Suter added "15 to 20" pounds during an offseason designed to increase both his strength and stamina. He was one of the Brewers' pleasant surprises last summer in making 22 appearances -- 14 starts -- with a 3.42 ERA.

The Brewers won his final three starts last season, with Suter compiling a 2.35 ERA. He was a 2012 31st-round Draft choice from Harvard.
He said the learning experience of his rookie season was invaluable in helping him prepare for this camp.
"It's the same game," he said. "These hitters are better, but good pitches will get good hitters out most of the time. Just having confidence in that, confidence in my ability."
was 2-for-2 on Saturday and raised his spring batting average to .458. He has eight hits in his past 14 at-bats.
Injury updates
Right-hander has made a nice recovery from a pulled oblique and is on track to pitch a camp game on Monday. He's penciled in for three more spring starts leading into the regular season.
• Catcher 's right shoulder has progressed enough that he'll begin a throwing program on Monday.

"Then we'll go as fast as we can," Counsell said. "We know there's a little bit of a time crunch. But Stephen has to be healthy. It doesn't do any good to hurry this. It's not something you can hurry. He's got to be healthy. He's got to be able to throw. That position requires a lot. It's a test for Stephen. We've got to make sure he's healthy, and we do it right, and we will."
Camp battles
Infielder singled in three at-bats on Saturday and is hitting .387 this spring in his quest to grab what probably will be a utility roster spot.
Up next
Left-hander will take an eight-inning shutout streak into his fourth spring appearance on Sunday in a road game against the Indians at 3:05 p.m. CT. He has one walk and 11 strikeouts after an offseason of reworking his mechanics. The game can be seen on MLB.TV.