MILWAUKEE -- Freddy Peralta is 24 years old. That¡¯s easy to forget when he has already pitched parts of four seasons in a Brewers uniform and came into this year still trying to prove he belonged in the starting rotation.
Luis Urías is 23. He¡¯s a couple of seasons removed from being baseball¡¯s 19th-best prospect per MLB Pipeline, and he had about as miserable an introduction to the Brewers¡¯ organization in 2020 as one could get. There was a broken hand, a case of COVID-19, then a quiet couple of months in a utility role.
But there¡¯s a place for patience with players talented enough to make it to the Major Leagues when they are barely old enough to raise a toast. The Brewers¡¯ patience with Peralta has been paying off. They hope Monday¡¯s 6-3 win over the Cubs at American Family Field proves the start of something similar for Ur¨ªas.
¡°I think the Milwaukee Brewers are always going to have to commit to young players,¡± manager Craig Counsell said the other day.
Peralta and Ur¨ªas led the way to Milwaukee¡¯s fifth victory in the last six games, all against the division-rival Cubs and Cardinals. Peralta struck out 10 batters in six more electric innings and departed as part of the Brewers¡¯ go-ahead six-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. Ur¨ªas, coming off a 1-for-21 road trip, delivered the biggest hit of the inning -- a pinch-hit three-run double that gave the Brewers the lead.
Two more hitters searching for their stroke kept the rally going, Jackie Bradley Jr. with an RBI triple and Keston Hiura with an RBI single, to make a winner of Peralta after the right-hander held the Cubs to one run on two hits and two walks in the fourth double-digit-strikeout performance of his budding career.
Peralta hadn¡¯t allowed a run in his first 10 innings of 2021 before Kris Bryant got the barrel of the bat to a fastball up and away and pulled it into the Brewers' bullpen for a solo home run leading off the fourth inning. How did Peralta respond?
He retired the final nine batters he faced.
¡°I don¡¯t know how he hit that pitch with great contact,¡± Peralta said of Bryant. ¡°I got mad after that one.¡±
It started with three straight strikeouts in the fourth. Joc Pederson looked at a breaking ball. Javier B¨¢ez swung and missed at a breaking ball so wildly that B¨¢ez lost control of the bat and threw it at the mound, forcing Peralta to dance out of the way. Peralta made it three straight strikeouts when he got Jason Heyward to fan at a changeup below the zone.
Peralta said he likes the moniker ¡°Fastball Freddy,¡± but it doesn¡¯t fit anymore. It¡¯s Four-Pitch Freddy, which helps explain how he just made two starts against the Cubs in a six-day span and held them to one run on three hits in 11 innings. The first start was more breaking-ball dominant. On Monday, it was more fastballs, with the breaking stuff reserved for big spots.
¡°I think we overlook how difficult it is to get big league hitters out with one pitch,¡± Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook said. ¡°That¡¯s stressful. Freddy was able to do that, he¡¯s able to get guys out with one pitch, but I think there¡¯s a freedom he feels and I think that¡¯s what you¡¯re seeing now. ¡®I¡¯ve got a slider. I¡¯ve got a changeup. I¡¯ve got a curveball. I¡¯ve got options. I never feel like I¡¯m stuck and I have to make a perfect pitch.¡¯ I think that¡¯s what we¡¯re excited to see about Freddy, is that blossoming of a pitcher that can throw four pitches in any count.¡±
Peralta put it like this: ¡°I feel I have more room, more space where I can go. It¡¯s different.¡±
Now if the Brewers could just help Ur¨ªas feel the same sense of freedom. They eliminated any doubt that he¡¯s the primary shortstop last week, when they traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta for two Major League-ready relievers. Even if it was good for Ur¨ªas from a baseball perspective, he said he was sad to see a friend go.
He finished the road trip with no hits in his last 13 at-bats, and he came into Monday night slashing .074/.242/.111 after posting a .602 OPS in 120 plate appearances last year.
"I mean, I think it's a tough game, especially hitting,¡± Ur¨ªas said. ¡°You can go 1-for-20, and then you can go 10-for-20. That's how it is, this game. And I've been trying to stay positive, telling myself it's 162 games, it's a long season. Obviously, I'm gonna keep working every day, trying to show up and get the results that I want. Today, that kind of gave me more confidence, getting that hit. It was a fun game."
The Brewers hope there is more.
¡°This is what organizations do. You have to make evaluations, and you have to believe in them,¡± Counsell said last week. ¡°That¡¯s how this works.¡±