For as long as Josh Hader has been in the big leagues, there have been debates in barrooms and at office water coolers and occasionally inside the Brewers’ clubhouse about the best way to maximize his electric left arm.

In multiple-inning stints with plenty of rest in between, like manager Craig Counsell used Hader early in his career? Or as a more traditional kind of closer, pitching one-inning stints in a higher number of appearances?

For what it’s worth, Hader says he “absolutely” prefers the latter.

• Brewers Minor League Spring Training report

“I think that's the biggest thing. … Previously I'd be down for a few days when you go multiple innings,” Hader said. “So, the usage is definitely different. You're able to impact more games than multiple innings in a game. I think this is one of the biggest things for me. … These one-inning stints have [allowed] me to get on routine and be able to really focus on pitching day after day.”

The Brewers’ game against the Pirates on Sunday set up as a potential multi-inning appearance. Hader entered the game in the ninth inning with the teams tied. But Counsell elected to use him only one inning. J.P. Feyereisen was on the mound in the 10th and wound up taking the loss.

Feyereisen bounced back to pitch a scoreless inning with the Brewers nursing a narrow lead on Monday at San Diego. After Brent Suter delivered a scoreless eighth, Hader made an appearance in back-to-back games the first time this season. He cut through the middle of the Padres’ order in the ninth, working around a walk to preserve a 3-1 Brewers win.

“I felt really good,” Hader said on Tuesday afternoon. “Command slipped a little bit on the fastball, nothing too serious. I just had to take a second and regather myself, but today I bounced back pretty good. Obviously, the first one of the year is always the testing one but we’re in a good spot, which is exciting for moving forward.”

Hader has said he focused on strength over the winter, anticipating the jump from a 60-game regular-season schedule in 2020 to a full 162-game schedule in 2021. Hader pitched 19 innings in 21 games last year and tied for the National League lead with 13 saves.

Early results are promising, though it’s an extremely small sample. Hader’s 96.9 mph average fastball and 84.8 mph average slider both represent career highs for velocity.

The results, meanwhile, are typically excellent. After winning the National League Reliever of the Year award in 2018 and ’19, Hader in ’20 set an all-time record with 12 hitless appearances to begin the season. This year, he is off to a similar start, with five hitless appearances spanning 4 2/3 innings and 16 batters faced.

“It goes back to the offseason,” Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook said. “We’ve got [bullpen coach] Steve Karsay on the ground [in Phoenix] and … from probably the third throwing program in, Karsay’s telling me, ‘Man, this ball’s coming out pretty good.’

“When I got out to Arizona and I saw his first live BP, I was like, ‘This is it. This is kind of the guy.’ Again, COVID was no joke as far as the ramp-downs and the ramp-ups and all that, so it hit people in different ways. Josh was great last year, and it’s exciting to know Josh can be even better than what he has been.”

Again, small sample, but Hader is on a pace for just more than 50 appearances with 10% of the season in the books. Does that sound about right, considering the circumstances of last year’s shortened slate?

“I don’t really look at the future,” Hader said. “Obviously, the way we play and the games that we have against the Central, anything can really happen. You can’t really justify what’s the right number. I think just going out through the season and everything will kind of play out the way it should. Whether that’s 50 innings or not, I think overall as long as I can stay healthy throughout, I think that’s the most important thing.”

Last call
• It’s too early to know whether outfielder Christian Yelich (back) will be ready to return from the 10-day injured list on Saturday, the first day he’s eligible to play. Counsell said Yelich has been doing “lots of activity” with the team this week in San Diego.

• The Brewers held shortstop Luis Urías out of the lineup Tuesday because he reported lingering discomfort at the top of his right calf, behind the knee. Urías was hurt on his home run trot Monday night, and Counsell said the issue was, “minor, but [there is] reason to be cautious.”