SAN DIEGO -- It took a spreadsheet on Tuesday to track the many moving pieces of the postseason-bound Brewers’ pitching staff.
Veteran starter Brandon Woodruff was in Dallas consulting with his shoulder surgeon to determine whether it’s prudent to try a comeback from his recent lat strain.
Rookie Logan Henderson was in Arizona throwing a third bullpen session at the Brewers’ “stay ready” camp. He has little bullpen experience, but he “felt good” in his latest workout, according to a club official, and could come into play in the postseason.
Lefty reliever DL Hall was also in Arizona, preparing to face hitters on Thursday. He has made no secret of his desire for a callup for the final weekend of the regular season against the Reds -- and a chance to prove his oblique strain has healed to the point he’s a viable candidate for the postseason roster.
All-Star closer Trevor Megill and veteran starter Jose Quintana were with the Brewers at Petco Park, taking turns throwing off a bullpen mound prior to Milwaukee’s 7-0 loss to the Padres.
Megill deemed the session “way more decent” than recent attempts to work back from a right flexor strain, and he still has a path to pitch before the regular season ends on Sunday. Quintana, sidelined by a left calf injury, simulated multiple innings and then did agility work in the outfield. He could be the Brewers’ No. 3 starter in the NLDS if things go just right.
And then left-hander Bruce Zimmermann took the mound against the Padres and gave up a grand slam to Ryan O’Hearn in the first inning and a two-run homer to Luis Arraez in the second that clanked off the right-field foul pole. Although Zimmermann managed to gobble up six innings to spare the bullpen, Milwaukee took its third straight loss.
Zimmermann was supposed to be with the Brewers for only one day last week as a bullpen backup, but then Woodruff went down with injury and the plan changed.
You might expect pitching coach Chris Hook to be a bit daunted with the run prevention unit that carried the Brewers to the best record in baseball in some disarray, and the postseason right around the corner.
But he’s not showing it.
“When chaos is normal,” Hook said, “that’s an OK thing.”
The Brewers hope to settle some of that chaos in the coming days, particularly in the bullpen. Megill has been crucial to the team’s success, and when he went down following an Aug. 24 blown save against the Giants, the initial hope was for a quick recovery.
A month later, he remains sidelined. But after discouraging results in recent mound sessions, Megill deemed Tuesday an important step forward. He reached 95-96 mph on the radar gun and was able to pitch, take a break while Quintana threw from a neighboring mound, then pitch again and maintain his velocity. The plan calls for Megill to face hitters on Friday, then potentially pitch against the Reds in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
It’s important that he faces a hitter in a real game before the pressure cooker that is the postseason, Megill said. You can understand his desire to take each step at the proper pace. His younger brother, Mets right-hander Tylor Megill, underwent Tommy John surgery on Monday.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Trevor Megill said.
So are the Brewers, who, despite falling way behind against a potential NLDS foe and losing for the fourth time in five games, actually moved closer to clinching the best record in baseball and the top overall seed in MLB’s postseason picture. With the Blue Jays’ loss, that race is down to the 95-63 Brewers and the 92-65 Phillies, who lost to the Marlins in 11 innings. The Brewers own the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
“We’ve pieced it together, and now here we are,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “So we’ll piece it together again.”
In recent years, that’s what they’ve done.
The Brewers were even moving the pieces around postgame. Murphy said Chad Patrick would start Wednesday’s series finale in place of Quinn Priester, and that Priester, who is the Brewers’ No. 2 starter with Woodruff sidelined, would instead start Friday against the Reds.
Murphy said the switch was to give Priester an extra day of rest in what would be his final regular-season start. It’s notable, perhaps, that doing so denies the Padres an extended look at Priester, should these teams meet again in the postseason.
“If you’re comfortable with the chaos,” Hook said, “then when things go smooth, you’re grateful for that. But this is the ‘normal.’”