MILWAUKEE -- They could have sent him to the Minors or skipped one of his starts. Instead, the Brewers believe the best thing for slumping right-hander Wily Peralta is to continue to pitch.
Peralta will remain on schedule to start Friday against the Mets, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after meeting with Peralta on Tuesday afternoon. As they spoke, Peralta had the worst WHIP (1.99) and second-worst ERA (7.30) among qualifying Major League starters.
"We need him to get back on track," Counsell said. "He's going to pitch Friday in New York. That's his day. He knows he needs to be a little bit better."
Asked whether there was much discussion of bumping Peralta from his current schedule, Counsell said, "I don't think it helps him. That's the big thing. We're trying to figure out what's best to get Wily going. The best way for him to get going is to get out there and pitch."
Peralta is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four career starts against the Mets.
He said he has been watching video of his outings in 2014, when Peralta won 17 games with a 3.53 ERA. So far, Peralta and the Brewers have found no obvious mechanical flaws to explain his poor performance this season.
"When anybody struggles, we look at everything and we try to find answers," Counsell said. "Sometimes, tinkering is the worst thing you can do, a little bit. But you're always going to ask the questions. It's almost always a combination of a lot of things. You feel like there will be one answer to the question, but the struggles are caused by a lot of different, little things. You try to just get better at each of them and try to get your confidence and your competitiveness at the highest level out there when you get out on the mound."