The Milwaukee Brewers had a golden opportunity on Tuesday.
They had their best pitcher, Corbin Burnes, on the mound and the Arizona Diamondbacks had to send a rookie because their top two options were unavailable.
Burnes allowed three home runs and four runs in total, the bullpen surrendered two more runs, and the Brewers ended up losing, 6-3.
Initially in a good position given the scenario described, now the Brewers have their backs against the wall.
If they lose on Wednesday, the season is over for them.
They are resorting to Freddy Peralta to save their year and live for one more day, via Adam McCalvy.
Freddy Peralta will start Game 2 for the Brewers.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) October 4, 2023
Peralta is no Burnes, but he is an excellent pitcher in his own right.
He finished tenth in MLB in strikeouts this year with 210, and had a solid 3.86 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 165.2 frames.
His fastball is among the most dominant in the game.
He is perfectly capable of helping the Brewers level the best-of-three series.
The problem is that the D-Backs will now be sending their best arm to the mound: Zac Gallen.
It will likely be a pitching duel for the ages, one that will have a sense of urgency for both teams: the D-Backs have a “tomorrow” if they lose, but they would love to save Merrill Kelly for Game 1 of the Division Series.
If they lose on Wednesday, they will have to use Kelly in Thursday’s hypothetical winner-take-all affair.
The Brewers have to win two in a row to make it into the Division Series.
For now, their focus is on Wednesday, and Peralta’s strikeout prowess could come in handy.
