Brewers place reliever Joakim Soria on DL with groin strain, recall Adrian Houser

ATLANTA - The Milwaukee Brewers' ninth-inning meltdown Thursday got even worse on Friday, if you can believe that.

Reliever Joakim Soria, who surrendered the decisive grand slam to San Diego's Hunter Renfroe that sparked a six-run rally and shocking 8-4 victory by the Padres, went on the 10-day disabled list with a groin  strain. Soria suffered an injury to his right adductor on the next batter after Renfroe's grand slam and exited the game.

To replace Soria on their roster, the Brewers recalled right-hander Adrian Houser from Class AAA Colorado Springs. 

So, as if that disastrous ending were not bad enough, now the Brewers will have to do without Soria for at least 10 days. The veteran reliever was acquired from the Chicago White Sox to provide another experienced late-inning arm for the playoff push and had appeared in seven games, posting a 1.59 ERA.

The Brewers took a 4-2 lead into that ninth inning at Miller Park, but closer Corey Knebel walked the first three hitters and then allowed a run-scoring infield hit before departing. Soria took over and recorded one out before Renfroe drove his grand slam far out to left.

Franmil Reyes capped the six-run rally with a home run off Jacob Barnes, who took over for Soria. 

The Brewers won't know for a while if Soria will need more time than 10 days to heal. He will rest and take therapy for a few days, then see how much progress he makes.

"It's frustrating," Soria said. "It's part of baseball. Hopefully, I can heal quickly and come back. This is the first day, so we will see how it goes. I've never had this before. I will see how I react to the treatment."

With Taylor Williams (elbow) and Matt Albers (hamstring) already on the DL and Knebel being taken out of high-leverage action for the time being, manager Craig Counsell's options with leads in the late innings are fewer than the first four months, when the Brewers had one of the best bullpens in the majors.

"I think we'll get Taylor back after the weekend; he's feeling really good," Counsell said. "As far as this weekend, Corey won't pitch today. The other guys will have to pick up the slack. We're back in the boat again where we'll have some (different) ways we can go but nothing is going to be set in stone."

Jeremy Jeffress is having the best season (1.29 ERA, 1.006 WHIP in 55 appearances) of his career, one that earned him a spot on the NL all-star team. He has closing experience, having posted 27 saves for the Brewers in 2016 before being traded with catcher Jonathan Lucroy to Texas. Despite that background, Counsell said he had no plans to turn the ninth inning over to Jeffress.

"We have to get 27 outs," Counsell said. "If we don't use J.J. to get the outs in the seventh or the eighth or the sixth, then somebody else has to get them. If J.J. keeps getting outs, he's doing his job and a really valuable job. He's going to have to continue getting outs for us. Where they are (in the game), it doesn't really matter to me.

"J.J. is certainly going to be a part of that in tight games. But if we take him out of one spot, then somebody else has to go in his spot. We've got to get to the last three (outs). This is about how we put together 27 outs. That's what you worry about the most. We're trying to make it more important as far as what hitters are coming up."

Counsell did say after the game Thursday he felt the Brewers' bullpen set up best with Knebel pitching the ninth. But Counsell said Knebel has to get back to the point with command of pitches where he can resume that role.

"We're trying to get Corey back to a spot where he's part of those big outs," Counsell said. "That doesn't have to be the ninth inning. When he's right, he's one of our better guys to do that. But we've got to make sure he's right."

And how can Knebel be helped? With a 4.58 FIP, 4.79 ERA and increasing difficulty in throwing his curveball for strikes, he is a far cry from his all-star season of 2017 (1.78 ERA, 2.53 FIP).

"He's going to pitch and we'll work with him," Counsell said. "Relievers are difficult because the side work part of it is not easy to do. You're expected to be available. It's hard to get out of those funks. We're going to have to try to put him in some easier situations and hope that we can correct some things. 

"There's two things – the fastball and the curveball. He's got two pitches. They both affect each other. It's a little bit of chicken or the egg, for me. They're both important; they both matter. Getting one back really excellent would definitely help. It helps until you get the other one going."

Houser had been starting for Colorado Springs, going 1-2 with a 5.74 ERA in nine outings. He has made six relief appearances for the Brewers this season, posting a 4.09 ERA.