ANAHEIM -- A manager will rarely come out and say a member of relief corps is down for the day, but it was so clear in Josh Hader's case Monday that Craig Counsell made an exception. Hader threw 36 pitches in an eight-up, eight-down save against the Cubs on Sunday afternoon.

“He’s not going to pitch today,” Counsell offered Monday afternoon. “You’re not getting anything else the next three days.”

Hader worked over the winter on getting stronger after throwing 81 1/3 innings in 55 games last season and setting the all-time record for strikeouts by a left-handed reliever, with 143. He has 13 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings so far.

Have the Brewers seen any early results from that winter work?

“Look, he’s pitched five times. He’s thrown the ball really well,” Counsell said. “We’ve used him in pretty normal circumstances. We haven’t got into the meat of the season yet. So I don’t think it’s the time to be able to answer that.

“He’s done everything we possibly could ask for. [On Sunday] we gave him a really tough task. I didn’t put him in the game thinking he was going to finish the game. It was just the right time to put him in the game. He was efficient enough with his pitches -- really, if there’s anything that’s happened so far this year, it’s that he has been incredibly efficient with his pitches.”

Last call
• Counsell intends to use three different designated hitters against the Angels, starting with Eric Thames in the series opener. Unlike roster alignments in some seasons that favored defense or speed, the current Brewers club is well-equipped to add a hitter to the lineup.

“Our team is built for American League baseball,” said Ryan Braun. “I think for all the teams in the National League, I would imagine we’re about as well-equipped as anybody could be for the DH. It’s something we look forward to.”