Photo via Freddy Peralta - Instagram
Freddy Peralta pitching
Freddy Peralta
It had already been a long Saturday afternoon for Freddy Peralta, but it was about to get longer.
Peralta had allowed just one run across five innings against Cleveland, but he’d had to work through some traffic to get there. He got into a lot of trouble in the fourth inning, when he allowed three walks and a hit and needed 37 pitches to get through the frame. He’d thrown 90 pitches on the day, a total he’s only exceeded in about half of his MLB starts in his career.
At times during his career the Brewers might have lifted Peralta in this situation and handed the game, which they led 2-1, over to their bullpen. In this case they did not, however: Peralta faced two batters in the sixth inning and allowed them both to reach. The relievers that followed allowed those inherited runners to score and Peralta was credited with the loss as Cleveland went on to win 4-2.
The very next day they faced a similar situation, this time with Corbin Burnes on the mound. Burnes had struggled recently, allowing a 4.60 ERA across his last seven starts, but on Sunday through five innings he also had allowed just one run and thrown 74 pitches. He stayed in the game for the sixth inning and faced seven batters, retiring just two of them. Three runs scored, and the Brewers’ 4-1 lead became a 4-4 tie.These two games continued a trend for the Brewers this season: They’re asking for more from their starting pitchers than they have in recent years. Through Sunday’s games the Brewers have allowed starting pitchers to pitch more than 5 1/3 innings and face 22.5 batters per game. Both of those rates are the highest they’ve been since 2017:
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Brewers pitchers stats
Multiple factors likely play a role in this change. First, it’s worth noting that in 2018 and 2019 the National League still didn’t have the designated hitter, so pitchers were sometimes lifted early because their spot in the batting order was due up. It’s also true that since 2018 and 2019 the Brewers have had aces emerge in their rotation: Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes pitch deeper into games than they used to with some regularity.
The pitchers working deeper into games for the 2023 Brewers aren’t just their aces, however. Colin Rea, Wade Miley, Adrian Houser, Eric Lauer and Julio Teheran have combined to complete two trips through the opponent’s batting order and started a third in 39 of their 43 starts this season. Early calls to the bullpen have become much less routine for Craig Counsell, and it’s had a negative impact on some of his pitchers’ stat lines: Opposing hitters have a .973 on-base plus slugging against Wade Miley after his 75th pitch in a game, and a .950 mark against Adrian Houser.
Covering for short starts was a strength for some recent contending Brewers teams because they had the bullpen depth to carry a game from the middle innings through its conclusion. Pitchers like Jeremy Jeffress had a role Craig Counsell described as “the closer for the starter,” managing high leverage situations when a starter was removed and getting the ball to the club’s dominant late inning pitchers. This also improved the stat line of pitchers like Miley, Houser and Gio Gonzalez by getting them out of games before they got themselves in trouble.
Perhaps they’ll find it as this team gets healthy and settles into roles, but the 2023 Brewers don’t appear to have the volume of reliable relievers needed to proceed that way. Without that kind of bullpen to turn to, the Brewers will continue to need more from the first pitcher to get the ball.
