Brewers: Big nights for Wily Peralta, Gerardo Parra in win over Giants
By Phil Watson
Wily Peralta pitched into the seventh inning in his first big-league start in more than two months and Gerardo Parra continued his torrid hitting Tuesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a three-game losing skid and ended a six-game win streak for the San Francisco Giants with a 5-2 victory at AT&T Park.
Peralta (2-5) was tremendous in his first start since May 22, when he strained a left oblique muscle and spent more than two months on the disabled list.
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The big right-hander worked into the seventh inning, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts and let the bullpen finish it out.
Peralta had held the Giants scoreless through six innings before he ran into his only trouble of the night leading off the seventh.
He walked Buster Posey and surrendered a double to Hunter Pence that put runners on second and third with no one out. Left-hander Will Smith came in to face Brandon Belt, and induced an RBI groundout that cut Milwaukee’s lead to 5-1.
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Smith then surrendered a sacrifice fly to Brandon Crawford, as the Brewers (44-57) were content to trade runs for outs with a big lead.
Smith worked into the eighth, getting the first out before yielding to right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, who got out of the inning. Francisco Rodriguez allowed a hit and struck out one in the ninth for his 28th consecutive save conversion, improving to 23-for-23 this season.
As has been the case in recent wins for the Brewers, the first inning set the tone. Gerardo Parra—extending his hitting streak to 12 games—led off with a double to left off right-hander Matt Cain (2-2) and advanced to third when Jonathan Lucroy lined out to center.
Carlos Gomez doubled home Parra and scored when Adam Lind—back in the lineup after sitting two games with a sore back—singled to right.
Parra was in the center of things in the third inning, leading off with a single and advancing to third on Lucroy’s base hit. Lind’s fly ball to center drove in Parra for a 3-0 lead.
Scooter Gennett led off the fourth inning with a triple to right field and scored on Jean Segura’s single to left.
With one out in the seventh, Parra tripled to right off right-hander Yusmeiro Petit and scored on Lucroy’s sacrifice fly to center field.
Parra finished 3-for-4—missing out on the cycle by a home run—and upped his average to .324, currently sixth in the National League.
Right fielder Ryan Braun sat out his second straight game with back spasms that flared up during batting practice on Monday.
“My goal is to finish strong,” Peralta told MLB.com. “Just have a quality start every time that i go out there and give the team a chance to win the ballgame.”
Parra’s big night also included a terrific sliding catch on Crawford’s sacrifice fly that helped prevent further damage.
“That’s my money, too, my defense,” the two-time Gold Glove winner told MLB.com.
Regarding the trade talk surrounding him, Parra had little to say.
“I don’t like talking about that,” Parra said of the looming Friday non-waiver trade deadline. “I can’t pay any attention to that. Just play baseball hard, because I don’t have any control over anything else.”
Jul 28, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Gerardo Parra (28) advances to third base safely in front San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy (5) on a sacrifice fly ball by catcher Jonathan Lucroy (20) in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
But his teammates know his value.
“If and when something happens, he’s going to make somebody better,” Lucroy said.
Lucroy was 2-for-3 in the game as the Brewers finished with nine hits.
The Brewers wrap up the seven-game road trip on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. Central, with right-hander Mike Fiers (5-8, 3.94 ERA) scheduled to start against right-hander Jake Peavy (2-4, 4.86).
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Fiers is 0-2 in three career outings against San Francisco (55-45), including two starts, posting a 4.05 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 13.1 innings with 15 strikeouts.
That includes a May 27 start at Miller Park when he allowed two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts in five innings while pitching on three days rest, taking the loss in a 5-1 Giants win.
In his last outing, Fiers allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in five innings, taking the loss in an 8-5 Arizona win on Thursday.
Peavy, who missed more than two months to open the season because of a back injury, is 4-4 in 12 career starts against Milwaukee with a 2.44 ERA and 1.181 WHIP. He has struck out 71 in 73.2 innings.
He last faced the Brewers last season, going 1-1 in two starts. In his last outing, Peavy gave up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts in six innings of a 9-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday.
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