Coming off his best month of the season, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta will try to continue his success into September when he takes the mound against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.
Peralta (9-7, 3.70 ERA) went 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA across five starts in August.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy senses Peralta’s motivation every time the 28-year-old veteran takes the mound.
“He’s very hungry,” Murphy said. “Now, he’s showing why the organization had that much faith in him to make him the ace. He’s getting better. He’s getting better. He’s eliminating some of the things he’s done in the past that have gotten him in trouble. He’s started to believe again in his fastball.”
Peralta did not allow a run in either of his two most recent outings, when he tossed five innings in a no-decision against the Cardinals on Aug. 22 and six innings in a win against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
“I don’t think I lost the confidence for the whole season, but sometimes things don’t go your way,” Peralta said. “I told you guys before that I knew that at some point I was going to feel good and everything was going to work again. I’ve been seeing that a little bit now.”
Peralta has made 18 appearances against the Cardinals in his career, including 14 starts, and is 3-6 with a 4.90 ERA.
In addition to his outing against the Cardinals two weeks ago, he has faced them two other times this season without getting a decision. He shut out St. Louis for six innings in the Brewers’ 2-1, 10-inning win on April 19 and gave up three runs over six innings in Milwaukee’s 5-3 win on May 11.
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado has had good success against Peralta in his career, going 10-for-33 (.303) with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
Milwaukee (80-57) had won five in a row before losing 4-3 in 11 innings to the host Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon. The Brewers enter the week with a comfortable nine-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.
St. Louis (69-68) comes in on a high note after beating the New York Yankees 14-7 on Sunday in the decisive game of their three-game series.
The Cardinals plan to start right-hander Andre Pallante in the series opener.
Pallante (6-6, 3.80) has strung together four straight solid starts, going 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in that span.
He most recently limited the San Diego Padres to two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings during a 4-3 St. Louis win on Wednesday. He departed with a 3-2 lead but did not factor in the decision.
“I just tried to make good pitches,” Pallante said. “They weren’t great pitches, but they were good pitches.”
Pallante has made 12 appearances in his career against the Brewers, all in relief, and has a 4.08 ERA with no decisions. One of those outings came on April 20, when he pitched the final three innings of a 12-5 loss to Milwaukee, allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits.
