Brewers have options for Saturday's start

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers have yet to name a probable pitcher for Saturday's game against the Cubs, when they need a fifth starter for the first time since Mike Fiers struggled against the D-backs on April 6. It could be Fiers again, manager Ron Roenicke said, or a Triple-A callup.

Tyler Thornburg, who made eight appearances -- including three starts -- for the Brewers last season, is slated to pitch for the Nashville Sounds on Friday. Another right-handed prospect, Hiram Burgos, is scheduled for Saturday. Both are on Milwaukee's 40-man roster.

"It will come down to what happens in some of these games," Roenicke said. "If Fiers gets in them, or we think Fiers is needed to be our long guy in the bullpen, then we'll try to go grab somebody else. But it's going to come down, probably, to a couple of days before that start."

Fiers did not help his cause on Tuesday, when the Brewers hoped to get two or three innings of relief work from him and instead got four outs.

"I would like to see him throwing the ball well before I make that decision to put him back in there to start," Roenicke said. "That's why we were hoping to see him pitch well out of the bullpen, then it's easier to slip him back in."