Position players on mound prompt giggles but bottom line is it means bad things happened

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When a position player comes in to pitch to save arms in the bullpen, it’s good for smiles and giggles at the time. Every position player wants the chance to strike out another player and see how he likes it.

Heck, Brewers utility player Hernán Pérez kept the baseball Sunday when he struck out Los Angeles’ Alex Wood, and Wood is a pitcher. That's how meaningful it is.

But Pérez also understands the reality of what’s going on with your team when you’re asked to pretend you’re a pitcher. It means much badness has occurred earlier in the game.

“It’s fun for a little bit but it means we’re losing by a lot,” Pérez said. “That’s tough. I don’t like to pitch because it means we’re losing, and I don’t like to lose.”

It got plenty ugly at Miller Park before Pérez pitched two scoreless innings, and backup catcher Erik Kratz another, to stop the 11-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers from getting more lopsided. And it wasn’t just that the starter Brent Suter got tattooed, as did the reliever who replaced him, Taylor Williams.

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What made it much worse was that Suter exited after four innings with a left forearm strain, the same injury that landed him on the 10-day disabled list earlier in the month. He’s headed back to the DL, with the severity of the injury to be determined by an MRI.

“It’s really the same thing,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s the same injury, the same severity. We’re going to have to take it a lot slower this time but he re-aggravated it.”

How much the injury had to do with the five runs the Dodgers scored off Suter in the second inning was unclear. It started with the first of two home runs by Matt Kemp off Suter, but had Ryan Braun caught a pop fly behind first base with no outs, the last four runs could have been averted.

This is the way it has gone of late for the Brewers, who get away with nothing. Jesús Aguilar was given a day off to rest sore legs and Eric Thames is on the DL with a hamstring issue, leaving first base to Braun, playing the position for the first time this season. He had held his own there previously but did not fare well this time, also muffing a grounder for an error.

“He hasn’t been over there, especially lately he hasn’t been over there very much,” Counsell said. “It’s out of need, for sure. With Aguilar kind of taking over first base and Eric around, it’s been on the back burner for Ryan. Plus, he’s been injured as well, so he hasn’t been over there much.

“It caught up with us today a little bit.”

Understandably, the normally upbeat Suter was discouraged over the turn of events. His ineffectiveness led to the sagging team’s eighth loss in nine games, and he thought he was clear of the forearm issue after the first DL stint.

“It’s a really disappointing setback,” he said. “I’m really disappointed for letting the team down today. I didn’t pitch well and then I got hurt to boot. It was just a real disappointing day.

“I personally feel horrible right now for letting the team down by pitching badly and getting hurt again. In the clubhouse, we realize it’s a long season. There’s going to be ups and downs but this is definitely a valley right now. We’re struggling as a team but, hopefully, we’ll get stronger and bounce back from this.”

Another red flag for a team springing all kinds of leaks was a second consecutive awful outing by Williams, who had moved into a high-leverage position in the first half by merit. In two appearances in the series, he allowed nine hits and seven runs (five earned) in two innings.

Williams said he felt fine physically, making his showing even more puzzling.

“Obviously, the results haven’t been there the last two outings,” he said. “Physically, mentally, going into those innings, I felt in the right place. It’s a matter of not executing pitches when I need to. I need to sit down and watch more video and talk with catchers to get a better understanding of how I need to attack some of these hitters and execute pitches.

“For the most part, I’m just not getting my fastball where I need to get it.”

So, a utility player and backup catcher covered the final three innings. To need emergency help for nine outs means it was a very bad day at the office. Did it provide some chuckles to watch those players try to record outs? Yes, but in the bigger picture it was not something you want to see.

“It’s the same answer all the other times I’ve pitched,” said Kratz, who was making his second pitching appearance of the season and fourth of his career. “You don’t want to be out there but there is a benefit to it later on down the road. So, it’s something I go out and do and enjoy the moment.

“At the end, it’s a loss. A loss is a loss.”

The Brewers need to stop absorbing so many of those if they want to remain in playoff contention. Counsell and his players continue to say the right things about it just being a down period, but with the injury picture, an underachieving offense and now leaks spring in the pitching staff, it has the feel of something worse.

“We’re in a tough stretch; you have tough stretches,” Kratz said. “But we have 56 wins. That’s something that’s a real positive. Losing today does not affect tomorrow. Injuries are something that happen.

“People are like, ‘So and so’s team is decimated by injuries.’ Well, if you want to make news, find a team that doesn’t have injuries. It’s all about the guys that step in the situations, whatever it is. …That’s what has to happen. …That’s how you win.”