SURPRISE, Ariz. -- There’s no bonus should he go on to win the Cactus League RBI title, and no prize for matching the franchise RBI record when it happens in a Spring Training game. But when Hernan Perez followed a three-run home run in the first inning by stinging a three-run double in the second inning of his unofficial season debut against the Rangers on Sunday, it did mean something.
Perez, who added a run-scoring groundout in the fourth inning of the Brewers’ 10-1 win for RBI No. 7 on the day, was playing his first game back from offseason surgery to remove a small but troublesome bone in his right wrist.
“It’s a good start, a good sign after not playing winter ball,” Perez said. “Having a good first game, it made me happy.”
Perez said his wrist feels “100 percent.” Last year, he played through nagging pain from May through the end of the season. On Halloween, he underwent surgery to remove the pisiform, a small bone next to the hamate.
Perez’s home run came off Yohander Mendez in the first inning and wrapped around the left-field foul pole. In the second, he hit a bases-clearing double to center field off another lefty, Zac Curtis.
Last season, Perez posted a .783 OPS against left-handed pitchers. He figures to see action against them again this year in a utility role.
Moose gets loose
Mike Moustakas immediately got the first mistake out of the way in the first game of his life at second base.
After Brewers starter Josh Tomlin completed his warmup tosses, Moustakas, a third baseman for his entire professional career, neglected to cover the bag for catcher Yasmani Grandal’s throw down. Shortstop Orlando Arcia shouted a good-natured reminder.
“I wasn’t paying attention,” Moustakas said with a smile. “It wasn’t too bad.”
Aside from that, the day was a success. Moustakas didn’t get tested in the field until the fourth inning, when he charged a Nomar Mazara bouncer and made an off-balance throw to first base for the second out. Three batters later, Moustakas fielded a grounder up the middle and stepped on second base to end the inning.
“I felt comfortable out there today,” Moustakas said. “I only got a couple plays. It’s definitely different [running out there to start an inning], catching the ball from the catcher and all that stuff. [Double plays] are going good. I feel really good. Transfers, feeds to the base. The more and more I do it, the more comfortable I’ll be and the better I’ll get. We have some great coaches helping me out.”
“He’s an athlete, so he won’t have any problem there,” Perez said. “It’s not a hard position. He will do great.”
Ray refining approach
Brewers No. 2 prospect Corey Ray tallied three RBIs on three hits against the Cubs on Saturday including a two-run home run in his first at-bat of the Cactus League. That was all good, but Ray has bigger-picture goals in mind for his first healthy big league camp.
“I’m not so much result-oriented this spring,” said Ray, who was limited by an injury in his only other Major League Spring Training in 2017. “My goal is to just put together as many good at-bats as I possibly can. Swing at strikes, do a job if a runner needs to be moved over or a runner needs to be brought in. Whatever my numbers are or whatever the result is, it is what it is.”
Where did this refined outlook come from?
“It’s just evolving,” Ray said. “You play last season and play on a good team [at Double-A Biloxi] and you realize that playing on a good team is more fun than playing on a not-so-good team, so you do whatever it is that you can to help your team win and contribute to your team being good. And then just being in this environment, there’s a lot of good guys and they’re focused on the team and the success of the team. Nobody talks about numbers or how much money they’ve made. And if they can be like that, then why can’t I?”
Ray is ticketed for a prospect-rich team at Triple-A San Antonio, where he figures to man the outfield alongside Troy Stokes Jr. and Tyrone Taylor. Because the Brewers’ core outfielders, Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, don’t need much to get ready for Opening Day, Ray and Co. figure to pile up significant at-bats in Cactus League play.
He was asked whether anything changes now that he’s on the cusp of the big leagues.
“For me, it’s like a shark smelling blood,” Ray said. “You go harder. You work harder and you do whatever it is that you think you need to do to prepare yourself for that level.”
Up next
Third baseman Travis Shaw is next to make his Cactus League debut on Monday when the Brewers travel to Tempe to play the Angels in the first televised game of Milwaukee’s spring slate. Non-roster invitee Burch Smith gets the start for the Brewers in the 2:10 p.m. CT game. Fox Sports Wisconsin will air the Angels’ TV feed.