Peralta stays on schedule following injury exit

ATLANTA -- It takes a lot to keep Wily Peralta from making a scheduled start. He made 32 in each of his first two full Major League seasons.

Peralta and the Brewers are optimistic that the pain he felt in his left side in the fourth inning Friday night won't keep him from his next one.

"I think I'm going to be OK," said the 26-year-old right-hander, who would next get the ball on Wednesday afternoon at Miller Park against the Giants. "I'm going to play catch and see how it feels and do my treatment."

Peralta was feeling just fine and continuing his mastery of the Braves on Friday -- he has a 1.23 career ERA in 22 innings against them -- limiting Atlanta to one hit, while walking two and hitting a batter over four innings. He'd even pitched out of a couple of jams.

Video: MIL@ATL: Peralta fans Cunningham to escape a jam

He also helped himself offensively, drawing a bases-loaded walk as part of a seven-run seventh that increased the lead to 9-0 en route to the 11-0 win over the Braves.

The Brewers' MVP in 2014, going 17-11 with a 3.53 ERA, is 1-5 with a 4.00 mark this season, but Peralta has received seven total runs of support in his five losses. Lately when the team has scored, circumstances have kept him from earning the W. In two of his last three starts, the Brewers have totaled 16 runs, but he only has no-decisions to show for it. On May 11, the bullpen was unable to hold a 7-2 lead, and on Friday, he was pulled before the fifth inning with a 9-0 lead.

With one out in the fourth, he felt pain in the mid-lower portion of his left side after throwing a 2-2 slider to Braves third baseman Alberto Callaspo, which Callaspo grounded to second baseman Hector Gomez for the second out. Peralta made two more pitches, enough to retire Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons on a groundout to third. Brewers manager Craig Counsell decided not to risk further injury and brought in Michael Blazek to start the fifth. Blazek pitched three shutout innings of one-hit ball to get the win.

Video: MIL@ATL: Blazek fans Young to pick up his third K

The decision to remove Peralta was a no-brainer for the Brewers' skipper.

"For me, it was a precautionary thing based on the score of the game," Counsell said prior to Saturday's game at Turner Field. "I'm optimistic right now. I think we're going to be OK there. We'll wait a couple of days for sure."

Peralta said he's never experienced anything like the pain he felt after that 2-2 pitch, but shared his manager's optimism and is going to take a business-as-usual approach. He took it easy Saturday, plans to play catch Sunday and then will decide how to proceed.

"Today I'm no more sore than the day after I pitch," he said.