TOP PLAY (WPA)
With one out, one on, and one run already scored in the top of the first, Brewers first baseman Adam Lind, who had missed the previous two games after being pulled in the third inning of Milwaukee’s loss to Arizona on Saturday with a sore back, ripped a single to right field to give the Brewers an early 2-0 lead (+.082 WPA). The Brewers would end up needing one more run to secure the win (another RBI from Lind in the third), but the Brewers put themselves in great position to win with a big first inning.
BOTTOM PLAY (WPA)
Trailing 4-0, the Giants got a pair of singles and a fielder’s choice to start the sixth inning, putting runners on the corners with one out for rookie Matt Duffy. It was the first real threat Brewers starter Wily Peralta faced. The right-hander was able to work out of it when Duffy grounded into a routine 4-6-3 double play (-.080 WPA) to end the inning, the threat, and the Giants best chance to climb back into the game.
KEY MOMENT
All of Milwaukee’s offensive trade chips showed out in the top of the first inning as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead (unless you somehow still subscribe to the idea that Jonathan Lucroy could be traded this summer, in which case I have a beautiful and well-priced bridge in Brooklyn to sell you). White-hot Gerardo Parra led off the game with a double to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. After a Lucroy line out to center, Carlos Gomez doubled to right field, scoring Parra. Gomez would subsequently score on Lind’s RBI single, as mentioned above.
With the Brewers out of contention for a playoff spot and the trade deadline just two days away, key moments for the team are best measured by plays that add to the trade value of players who might not be members of the local baseball squadron at the end of the week. Parra, who also showed off his Gold Glove defense with a diving catch on the right-field line in the seventh, raised his slash line to .324/.365/.517 with a brilliant 3-for-4 showing. Lind, who needed to make an appearance to re-establish his trade value after missing the previous two games with a back injury, not only came through with the biggest hit of the game, but also tallied the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the third. The first baseman finished 1-for-3, but most importantly, he made it through all nine innings without an injury issue. Closer Francisco Rodriguez also pitched a clean ninth inning and is a perfect 23-for-23 in save opportunities, which mystifyingly remains a stat that real professional baseball teams care about.
TREND TO WATCH
Wily Peralta, making his first start since May 22, threw six innings of two-run, five-hit ball to lead Milwaukee to their first win in five games. On a starting pitching staff full of might-bes and has-beens, Wily Peralta maybe represents Milwaukee’s best hope for a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter. With the season already lost, the focus shifts from what players can do for you this year to what they can ultimately become. Peralta was coming off a breakout season in 2014 in which the 26-year-old led Milwaukee in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched but has failed to build on last season’s successful campaign, recording career highs in hits (10.2) and home runs (1.2) per nine innings and a career low strikeout rate (5.7) in 2015. Encouragingly, Peralta did not appear to have any lingering effects from the rib-cage strain that forced him to miss over two months of action:
Wily Peralta touched 95 mph against his first hitter off the DL. Looks like he's glad to be back.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 29, 2015
COMING UP NEXT
The Brewers will look to take two of three from the defending world champions when they wrap up their West Coast road trip with an afternoon matchup between Mike Fiers and Jake Peavy. First pitch is at 1:45 pm central time. The Brewers will then return home for a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs to wrap up the month and take them through the trade deadline.