The Milwaukee Brewers were expecting to have starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff for their NL Wild Card series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, an injury has taken him out of the rotation, which had left the team's Game 2 starter, now a must-win contest after losing on Tuesday, up in the air.
Not anymore, however. The Brewers have settled on Freddy Peralta as their Game 2 starter to face Zach Gallen and the D'Backs.
If the Brewers don't win game two, they will be eliminated from the playoffs in the best-of-three series. Even worse, Peralta will have a lot on his shoulders after the bullpen was heavily used in the Game 1 loss.
The other starter the Brewers could have used was Wade Miley, who had a 3.14 ERA versus the 3.86 ERA that Peralta produced this season. However, Milwaukee has more faith in Peralta, who they signed for the long-term future.
Peralta didn't pitched against the Diamondbacks in 2023 or 2022. But in 2021, he faced them twice. They were less effective as a team back then, but he went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA with 13 innings pitched over two starts.
Brewers tab Freddy Peralta to start must-win Game 2
With Milwaukee losing 6-3 in the series opener, the Diamondbacks are the favorites to win now in this best-of-three series, but the Brewers have been a better team in 2023. The pitching staff, however, has been ravaged with injuries, which is a hurdle they still must clear.
Since this is a must-win game for the Brewers, they will be playing more aggressively than they were previously. Woodruff is unable to pitch now, but if they make it to the next round, he may be able to help them. Using the bullpen correctly to get to that point, however, is crucial.
In Game 1, some of the bullpen, specifically Devin Williams, shouldn't have been utilized -- and it cost Milwaukee dearly. Peralta will have to go deep into Game 2 to set the Brewers up for success not just in an elimination game, but moving forward too.
