{"id":71620,"date":"2024-04-28T15:52:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T19:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=71620"},"modified":"2024-04-28T15:52:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T19:52:28","slug":"brewers-pitching-injuries-staff-holds-its-own-despite-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/28\/brewers-pitching-injuries-staff-holds-its-own-despite-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Brewers Pitching Injuries: Staff Holds Its Own Despite Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barely a week into the 2024 Major League Baseball season, <\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0his Milwaukee Brewers taking an early lead over the National League Central, manager Pat Murphy<\/a> asked a visiting beat writer if he could name members of\u00a0<\/span>Milwaukee’s<\/span>\u00a0starting rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n

A month later, even the skipper\u00a0<\/span>himself<\/span>\u00a0could\u00a0<\/span>be forgiven<\/span>\u00a0for asking his pitchers to wear name tags around the ballpark.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I<\/span>f you look at our proposed 26-man roster to start the season, you can say wow,\u00a0<\/span>there’s<\/span>\u00a0a lot of new faces, a lot of inexperience,<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span>Murphy said.<\/span>\u00a0“<\/span>Then take away 12 of those guys\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0wow,\u00a0<\/span>there’s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>really<\/span>\u00a0a lot of new faces<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

While pitching injuries have been endemic across the industry this season, few teams have\u00a0<\/span>been hit<\/span> as hard as the Brewers. Since Opening Day, Milwaukee has sent six pitchers to the injured list for various ailments. A rash of misfortune culminated Friday when <\/span>it was announced<\/span>\u00a0that veteran left-hander Wade Miley<\/a> would be lost for the season thanks to a torn ulnar collateral ligament<\/a> that will require Tommy John<\/a> Surgery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brewers Pitching Injuries Testing Depth<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Brewers’<\/span>\u00a0pitching staff was already a work in progress, to use\u00a0<\/span>Murphy’s<\/span>\u00a0own words, with stalwart right-hander Brandon Woodruff<\/a> not expected to pitch in 2024 after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and the loss of reigning ace Corbin Burnes<\/a> who\u00a0<\/span>was dealt<\/span>\u00a0to Baltimore just before Spring Training. Adding to the misery, All-Star closer Devin Williams<\/a> was shelved late in camp with stress fractures in his back that\u00a0<\/span>are expected<\/span>\u00a0to leave him out of action for at least another month.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a rotation anchored by Burnes, Woodruff, Freddy Peralta<\/a>, Josh Hader<\/a>, and<\/span>\u00a0Devin Williams locking down the late innings, pitching has been the driving force behind the\u00a0<\/span>Brewers’<\/span>\u00a0recent\u00a0<\/span>run of<\/span> success. Peralta is the last man standing from that group. Colin Rea<\/a> and Miley were expected to provide some stability behind him and a deep pool of options and depth to help fill out the final two spots over the course of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

That plan has played out, for the most part, just a little faster than anyone might have expected.<\/p>\n

In all, nine different pitchers have started games for Milwaukee so far this season, <\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0the team has used 17 pitchers in all — a number\u00a0<\/span>that’s<\/span>\u00a0almost certain to climb even higher with 136 games left on the schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>T<\/span>here’s<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>limit to depth<\/span>,<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span>Murphy said.<\/span>\u00a0“<\/span>We’ve<\/span>\u00a0lost a lot of guys this year. By my count, nine of our top 16 pitchers are\u00a0<\/span>out<\/span>\u00a0so\u00a0<\/span>we’re<\/span>\u00a0having to fill in with guys who we had no idea would be in the big leagues\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that’s<\/span>\u00a0a challenge\u00a0<\/span>but<\/span>\u00a0at the same time,\u00a0<\/span>it’s<\/span>\u00a0a great opportunity<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

New Faces Added Frequently<\/h3>\n

Another new face entered the mix Saturday ahead of\u00a0<\/span>Milwaukee’s<\/span>\u00a0game against the Yankees at American Family Field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Milwaukee recalled right-hander Janson Junk<\/a> from Triple-A Nashville. This was after the Brewers burned through four relievers to cover five innings in an 11-inning, 7-6 victory in the series opener one night earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

That move didn’t come without a cost, though. Milwaukee had to clear a player off the roster to accommodate Junk — right-hander Jared Koenig<\/a>. He’d been one of the team’s best relievers, compiling a 1.04 ERA over five appearances this season. <\/span>But Koenig had pitched in three of the\u00a0<\/span>Brewers’<\/span> last four games. That includes two innings Friday night, and had a minor-league option remaining, leading<\/span>\u00a0to him earning a plane ticket to Nashville.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>I<\/span>t\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0the business of baseball, and\u00a0<\/span>it’s<\/span>\u00a0tough,<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span>Murphy said.<\/span>\u00a0“<\/span>Koenig has been great for us.\u00a0<\/span>He’s<\/span>\u00a0got an option. We needed length.\u00a0<\/span>We’ll<\/span>\u00a0see Koenig again,\u00a0<\/span>I’m<\/span>\u00a0sure<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

So Far, So Good<\/h3>\n

Despite the missing pieces, constant turnover, and the Brewers pitching injuries, Milwaukee still sits atop their division and own the third-best record in baseball heading into Saturday,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>largely<\/span>\u00a0because of their pitching.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to a 15-3 drubbing Saturday night, Milwaukee’s<\/span> staff ERA of 3.46 ranked second among National League teams and eighth overall so far this season. While<\/span>\u00a0the starting\u00a0<\/span>rotation’s<\/span> 4.20 ERA was good for 10th in the NL, the <\/span>Brewers’<\/span> bullpen led the league with a 2.60 ERA — including a 1.25 mark over the <\/span>team’s<\/span> last 15 games, again, before the Saturday night hiccup.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>I<\/span>t’s<\/span>\u00a0early\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0our bullpen has been magnificent.\u00a0<\/span>Their<\/span>\u00a0performance,\u00a0<\/span>they’ve<\/span>\u00a0overachieved,<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span>Murphy said.<\/span>\u00a0“<\/span>It\u00a0<\/span>isn’t<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>conventional,<\/span>\u00a0how\u00a0<\/span>we’re<\/span>\u00a0doing it. But\u00a0<\/span>it’s<\/span>\u00a0what we have to do to win tonight. So, will we pay the price down the road? I guess\u00a0<\/span>we’ll<\/span>\u00a0see. Standard wisdom says yes,\u00a0<\/span>we’ll<\/span>\u00a0pay the price down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>I<\/span>t’s<\/span>\u00a0better to be in this position than not having that opportunity<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barely a week into the 2024 Major League Baseball season, with\u00a0his Milwaukee Brewers taking an early lead over the National League Central, manager Pat Murphy asked a visiting beat writer if he could name members of\u00a0Milwaukee’s\u00a0starting rotation. A month later, even the skipper\u00a0himself\u00a0could\u00a0be forgiven\u00a0for asking his pitchers to wear name tags around the ballpark. “If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5129,"featured_media":71694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1071],"tags":[4266,2514,507,645,21201,2198],"class_list":["post-71620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brewers","category-mlb","tag-devin-williams","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-nl-central","tag-pat-murphy","tag-wade-miley"],"modified_by":"Chris Drosehn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}