Rookie Freddy Peralta continues to impress at every turn

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Brewers get another solid effort from rookie starting pitcher Freddy Peralta as he allows just one run on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts against the Braves on Friday night.

Six starts into his major-league career, and Freddy Peralta is still showing no signs of shrinking from the task at hand.

The rookie delivered yet another strong performance on Friday night, pitching six innings and limiting a potent Atlanta Braves offense to just three hits and a run as the Brewers racked up their fifth consecutive win, 5-4, at Miller Park.

Peralta overcame a shaky first for the second consecutive outing then sailed through his final five as the 22-year-old continues his remarkable run for the National League leaders.

"He looks mature. He looks like he belongs, for sure," said Dan Jennings, whose spot-on relief in the seventh helped lock down the victory. "And that’s what you want to see – people who act like they belong on the mound.

"That’s a big thing for a young kid."

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Peralta, by his own admission, was a little too eager early on when he walked the leadoff batter and then allowed consecutive doubles to open the game in a 1-0 hole.

The first inning was even tougher on him in his previous start in Cincinnati, when in stifling heat and humidity he allowed the first six batters he faced to reach base in falling behind the Reds, 3-0.

This time, Peralta kept the frame from spiraling out of control — even though it took him a total of 30 pitches.

First, it was Ozzie Albies being thrown out at third base after driving in the run when he got a little too greedy on the basepaths and then Eric Thames making a terrific diving catch in right field to rob Kurt Suzuki of extra bases to keep the deficit at just a run.

"I thought Freddy threw the ball well in the first inning," manager Craig Counsell said. "He was 0-2 on the first four hitters of the game and he just couldn’t put them away. He laid off some pitches up; the top of their lineup’s got some good hitters.

"He made some pitches, they just grinded a run out. But I thought he threw the ball well in that first inning."

Starting with a Nick Markakis flyout in that first and ending with a Markakis single in the fourth, Peralta retired nine straight.

And in the meantime he was handed a five-spot, with Tyler Saladino and Jesús Aguilar hitting two- and three-run home runs, respectively, in the bottom of the third off Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz that made it a 5-1 game.

A batter after the Markakis single, Peralta got Suzuki to ground into a 5-4-3 double play, then worked around a walk in both the fifth and the sixth to complete his night at 99 pitches.

"I think today was a little bit different because I was a little bit excited," Peralta said. "I was feeling really good today and I was a little too fast.

"But after that everything was very good."

To have Peralta delivering as he has been with first Zach Davies and now Brent Suter sidelined with injuries can't be overstated enough.

"Look, you pitch six innings and give up one run, you’re doing a heck of a job," Counsell said. "He keeps delivering.

The right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.14 earned run average and 46 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings of work. His 46 strikeouts through his first six games are most in franchise history, 14 ahead of Gary Beare's 32 in 1976.

"Every start you learn something," Peralta said. "I’m trying to be better for my next start. I’ll try to be better, be normal in the first inning.

"After that, I know everything’s going to be fine."

Peralta jumped onto the scene by striking out 13 with almost all fastballs in his major-league debut on Mother's Day in Colorado, was demoted to Class AAA Colorado Springs a week later and recalled once again roughly a month after that.

With the way he's pitched since, it would appear to be highly unlikely he'll see Colorado Springs again this season.

"He just seems like a really happy kid. I don’t think the moments really affect him too much," shortstop Tyler Saladino said. "He’s really focused. And he trusts his stuff. Playing behind him and you watch him go about it, he trusts his stuff and he’s not afraid to go right after guys.

"It’s like a sneaky confidence that you feel when you’re out there behind him. You get fired up."

Added Jennings: "I mean, they can’t hit the ball. It’s amazing. He just keeps throwing it by guys. The deception or whatever it is, you can’t teach that. It’s really cool and something really neat to see out of a young kid."