MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers may have lost their sixth consecutive game on Tuesday night, but it was what happened in the first seven innings that may be the most important takeaway moving forward.
Right-hander Wily Peralta delivered his most impressive performance of the season, striking out 10 batters and allowing one run on three hits over seven innings in the 2-1 loss to St. Louis. It marked a complete turnaround for Peralta, who was demoted to Triple-A in June after a rough start to the season.
Tuesday was the second time in his career that Peralta posted double-digit strikeout numbers. In his five starts since being recalled, Peralta owns a 3.00 ERA while striking out 27 and walking four over 30 innings.
"This is his best start of the year, for sure," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "The slider and the fastball were both equally good. The fastball was down and heavy, the slider was certainly swing-and-miss tonight. He pitched very, very well. He's really strung together a bunch of good starts since he's been back. He's pitched well since he's been back, he's pitched very well."
Peralta bucked another trend on Tuesday night by pitching well against St. Louis. In his career against the Cardinals, he was 4-10 with a 5.02 ERA and 0-7 with a 5.40 ERA in his last seven starts against them.
"It feels pretty good to be able to command, especially against this team that I've really struggled against in my last few started games," Peralta said. "And then being able to be back today out there and execute pitches and pitch pretty well against them, it feels pretty good."
The assembly in the visitors' dugout was impressed, as well.
"That's the best we've seen him," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "He had a very heavy fastball, and the slider was disappearing. There were a lot of swing and misses we had. He actually got some swing and misses on his changeup, as well. He was on. I think he was bound and determined to do something different."
In completing seven innings on 89 pitches, it was the first time that Peralta had lasted that long in a game since exactly one year ago, on Aug. 30, 2015.