Brewers' rotation at crossroads after Rodriguez's third outing

SAN DIEGO -- Necessity brought 22-year-old Carlos Rodriguez to the big leagues and has kept him there for three starts and as many Brewers losses.

Now, circumstances might offer the ballclub an opportunity to reassess.

With an off-day on the calendar next week and some of the Brewers’ injured pitchers either back in action (Jakob Junis), getting close (DL Hall) or beginning to make progress (Joe Ross), Brewers officials have flexibility to decide whether to move forward with Rodriguez in the rotation. The right-hander tossed four innings on Saturday in the Brewers’ 6-4 loss at Petco Park, and he fell to 0-3 with a 7.30 ERA.

“That’s just all part of where we’re at right now,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ve been going with guys like Tobias [Myers] and [Rodriguez] and Bryse Wilson, who hasn’t started a lot, and Colin [Rea], who was a spot starter for us last year. That’s who we have, and I’m not complaining. This is a group I believe in.

“They know we’re something special and we’re going to at least fight. I said it from the beginning; We might not be great, but we’re going to fight.”

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Brice Turang hit a two-strike, two-out grand slam in the ninth inning to put the Brewers on the scoreboard late, but they will need to win Sunday with another rookie on the mound in Myers to avoid a rare, four-game sweep.

Facing a Padres lineup missing four injured regulars including outfielders Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar, Rodriguez kept San Diego scoreless for three innings before a pair of misplaced pitches in the fourth went for home runs that put Milwaukee in a 4-0 deficit and spelled the end of Rodriguez’s outing.

Rodriguez was Milwaukee’s Minor League pitcher of the year each of the past two seasons, but mistakes come at a high price in the Majors. When he grooved a sinker to Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, the 21-year-old rookie hammered it a Statcast-projected 440 feet for a three-run home run. Two batters later, Ha-Seong Kim hit a hanging slider for a solo homer and a 4-0 deficit.

“I’m just going day to day, keep doing the work I’ve done my whole career,” said Rodriguez, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Brewers' No. 6 prospect. “[Losing] is part of baseball; you’re not going to succeed every time.”

The Brewers won’t require a fifth starter again until July 2 at Colorado. Rodriguez is one option. Another is Junis, who was reinstated form the 60-day IL on Friday and made his first appearance since April 2 in relief of Rodriguez, topping 94 mph over three mostly sharp innings. Junis was burned by Kyle Higashioka’s two-run homer off a slider in the seventh inning.

“For the time being, kind of being in this one- to three-inning role is what I did last year [with the Giants] for the most part, and then spot started and threw three innings, maybe a fourth sometimes,” Junis said. “But there hasn’t been talk of building back up yet, so that’s totally up to them.”

If the Brewers prefer to keep Junis in the bullpen, then it could be another callup.

Choices already on the 40-man roster include left-hander Aaron Ashby, who surrendered seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday and has an 8.30 ERA for the Sounds. Or, Taylor Clarke, a 31-year-old right-hander who started this season on the injured list following surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. He threw 92 pitches over 4 2/3 innings of his most recent start on Wednesday and has a 3.46 ERA for Nashville.

Hall is on the 60-day IL with a left knee injury but back on track in his rehab assignment with Nashville following a pause. He has been pitching every three to four days, last throwing 36 pitches over 1 1/3 innings on Thursday.

Brewers officials have also discussed Chad Patrick, a 25-year-old acquired from the A’s last fall for infielder Abraham Toro. Patrick possesses a good cutter and terrific Triple-A numbers this year (7-1, 2.76 ERA), but he’s not on the 40-man roster.

“[Rodriguez] is still learning on the job,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t the plan for him to be pitching in the big leagues right now. But with all of our injuries … you’re going to some guys that are arriving quicker.

“We think he’s a Major League pitcher. We think he’s good. I think he does show flashes of being very good.”