Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has proved to be fairly mild-mannered, but his patience has been tested by umpires in the past two games.
Murphy would prefer to avoid any umpire interaction when the Brewers continue their three-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay snapped a three-game losing streak and held the Brewers to three hits in a 1-0 victory on Monday. Ryan Pepiot and three relievers combined for the Rays’ second shutout this season.
“We needed Ryan Pepiot, and we needed good pitching,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “And we got it.”
One game after the Brewers fell victim to a controversial ruling in a 15-5 loss to the New York Yankees, the umpires were a factor again in Monday’s contest.
In Sunday’s loss, the Yankees put together a seven-run rally after the umpires did not call interference on Aaron Judge’s slide into second base in the sixth inning. The umpires later acknowledged their error.
On Monday, Milwaukee appeared to tie the game in the ninth inning after Sal Frelick raced home on a passed ball. Instead, Jake Bauers was ruled out on a backswing interference call and Frelick was sent back to third base.
“That backswing happened after the ball was already past him,” Murphy said. “So, in my opinion, that’s a bad call. They made a mistake, and they changed the game. I’m not going to act like I know everything, but that’s what it says in the rulebook.”
Milwaukee will send right-hander Freddy Peralta (2-0, 3.18 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday. He received a no-decision after giving up five runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday.
“I didn’t have the command of any of my pitches,” Peralta said. “I came out to battle and give my best, but I wasn’t able to finish the fifth. That was probably the worst part for me.”
Peralta has gone 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two career starts vs. Tampa Bay. Milwaukee has won all five of his starts this season.
The Rays will counter on Tuesday with left-hander Tyler Alexander (1-0, 4.74), who will make his third start of the season.
Alexander allowed two runs over four innings of relief against the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday. He has a 6.00 ERA without a decision in three career meetings (one start) vs. the Brewers.
Catcher Ben Rortvedt is 10-for-26 (.385) over his last 11 games for the Rays, who bounced back after being swept in three games by the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. Jason Adam struck out Blake Perkins with the bases loaded to seal Monday’s win.
“That was a big win for the team,” Adam said. “That’s what we do when we’re playing good ball. We win blowouts and we win close games. I’m hopeful and optimistic that it’s a sign of things to come for this team.”
Milwaukee has lost three straight and continues to monitor the status of outfielder Christian Yelich, who has been out since April 16 because of a lower back strain.
Yelich threw from 120 feet before Monday’s game, and Murphy said he’ll have a better idea of when he might return next week.
Murphy also announced that left-handed starting pitcher Wade Miley will have season-ending elbow surgery on May 7. Rookie Tobias Myers has replaced Miley and will remain in the rotation.
–Field Level Media
