ST. LOUIS -- With 2018 All-Star Jesús Aguilar stuck in a slump, the Brewers tried someone new at first base in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals: Yasmani Grandal, who was errorless in seven opportunities.

Grandal, Milwaukee’s regular catcher, didn’t take a single rep at first base in Spring Training, and had to scramble to find a mitt. But he has been swinging a hot bat that manager Craig Counsell wanted to keep in the lineup even on a day he got a break behind the plate, so Grandal was penciled in at first base for the first time since last May, when he started there for the banged-up Dodgers in the second game of a doubleheader.

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge in the beginning,” Grandal said. “But I’m up for it.”

“It may be something that we do a little bit more over the next couple of weeks,” Counsell said.

The position isn’t entirely foreign. Grandal played mostly third base as a boy but said he also saw some time across the diamond at first. In 2014 with the Padres, when Grandal was coming back from knee surgery, he played 37 games at first, including 34 starts.

He said Padres coach Glenn Hoffman was a significant influence in teaching Grandal the intricacies of first base.

“Obviously we want to get ‘Aggie’ back on board,” Grandal said, referring to Aguilar. “He’s a key piece to this offense. But whatever it takes. If that’s what it takes to win a game, I’ll play outfield if I need to.”

It marked Aguilar’s second straight day out of the lineup. He entered Tuesday with a .192 weighted on-base average and a .398 OPS, fourth-lowest in both categories among qualifying Major League hitters.

Minor League report
Utility man Tyler Saladino arrived from Triple-A San Antonio on Tuesday bearing praise for top Brewers prospect Keston Hiura, who hit his fifth home run for the Missions in Monday’s game at Nashville.

“I was telling [Ben Gamel], he’s one of the guys you don’t want to miss any of his at-bats,” said Saladino, who took Adrian Houser's roster spot a day after Houser lost his first Major League start. “He’s just so unique in the way that he hits.

“San Antonio isn’t the most hitter-friendly place, and the ball going to right field doesn’t travel nearly as well as the rest of the field. He was just defying that multiple times, hitting opposite-field home runs. It was really fun to watch. I didn’t miss any of his at-bats. … He hits the ball to right field like a left-hander would pull it. That’s not something you see very often, and he does it every day. It’s really impressive.”

Houser’s roster spot was available because an off-day later this week means the Brewers won’t need a fifth starter until the next homestand.

Saladino will help cover for the absence of infielder Mike Moustakas, who was still getting treatment Tuesday for a fractured right ring finger.

“This is not a [injured list] situation,” Counsell said. “He improved again today. He’s going to take some swings in batting practice today. But [Saladino] protects us for the next couple of days.”

Peralta progress
Right-hander Freddy Peralta said his 15-pitch light bullpen on Monday went well, and he is scheduled to throw a full bullpen session on Wednesday morning at Busch Stadium. If that goes well, he could rejoin the Brewers’ starting rotation during the next homestand.