Peralta may make regular start; Figaro back soon

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Wily Peralta threw an "outstanding" bullpen session Friday and may be able to start his turn in the rotation Sunday against the Mets.

Peralta left his Tuesday start in the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring, leaving his availability for Sunday up in the air.

To Roenicke, Peralta's sharp bullpen session was a good sign.

"I know you can't simulate 100 percent like in a game, but he really got after it," Roenicke said. "It was really good, the hamstring."

Despite battling through the hamstring tweak that he first felt in the third inning, Peralta was cruising through the Nationals' lineup before exiting the game Tuesday. He tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, while walking two and striking out five. Roenicke said he would talk with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin on Friday to discuss the team's pitching possibilities for the start of next week.

"We'll discuss whether he's going to go Sunday or whether he skips a full turn, or maybe just knock him off a couple days," said Roenicke.

Roenicke said the Brewers are also on the brink of returning Alfredo Figaro to their rotation, but Marco Estrada will take some more time. Both pitchers have been working back from injuries in Arizona since June 27 -- Figaro a right oblique strain and Estrada a left hamstring strain.

Roenicke said Figaro may be ready for the team's final series before the All-Star break in Arizona from July 11-14.

"Figaro's coming along really well, Estrada slower," said Roenicke.

The issue for Estrada continues to be offspeed pitches from the mound, but Roenicke said the process is just trial and error until his right-hander feels good enough to take the next step.

"He's fine when he goes down to play his long toss, they stretch out to 140-feet or something, and then he comes in and throws the bullpen and still feels [his hamstring] on his offspeed pitches," Roenicke said. "We'll just keep doing it until he doesn't have that feeling again and then we'll talk about a rehab assignment."