Covering the bases 8/29/2025: Brewers 7, Blue Jays 2
After a losing homestand, the Milwaukee Brewers embarked on a quick three-game road trip against the top team in the American and came away with a decisive 7-2 victory Friday at the Rogers Centre. The Brewers, who have MLB's best record at 84-52, hold a 6½-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 11-7.
FIRST BASE: Ashby's struggles
Once right-handed starter Freddy Peralta exited the game after a stellar six shutout innings, the plan was to have left-handed reliever Aaron Ashby finish off the last three innings. But this plan went awry as struggled with his command, yielding two runs in the seventh inning on two hits with a walk and a strikeout. He needed 26 pitches to get three outs, only 13 of which were strikes. That led to right-handed reliever Shelby Miller coming in for the eighth. Friday marked 10 years in MLB for Miller, a prestigious accomplishment that fully vests a pension. Only 10% of players accrue 10 years of service time.
SECOND BASE: Frelick's terrific catch
One defensive play – or play not made – can change the course of a game. In the bottom of the eighth inning with no outs and a runner on first, Addison Barger hit a sinking line drive to right field. That is where Sal Frelick put his Gold Glove skills on display and dove to his right to snatch a hit away from Barger and prevent a larger rally from happening.
THIRD BASE: Another offensive burst
After five shutout innings by both starting pitchers, the Brewers broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning. Andruw Monasterio started the inning off by cranking out his fourth homer of the season. Brice Turang singled and William Contreras flew out. That was enough to chase Jays starter Shane Bieber, who was making just his second start after having Tommy John surgery in June 2024. Against reliever Brendon Little, Christian Yelich walked and Andrew Vaughn drove in Turang with a single of his own. After Frelick struck out, the third Jays pitcher of the inning came in as Louis Varland took the mound. Caleb Durbin greeted Varland with an RBI single and Issac Collins capped the scoring with a two-run double. The Brewers tacked on two runs in the seventh.
HOME PLATE: Freddy is fine
Peralta was on his game. Coming into the game with an opponent batting average of .197, fifth-best in MLB, Peralta limited the potent Blue Jays' offense to just one hit over six shutout innings. He also issued just one walk and struck out eight. Peralta's control had been a little shaky, walking at least two in six of his last seven starts. It was good enough for Peralta to pick up his MLB-leading 16th win of the season and lower his ERA to 2.58, second in the NL and fifth in MLB. Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates leads MLB with a 2.05 ERA. In August, Peralta is 4-0 with a 0.32 ERA, allowing just one run in 28 innings over five starts. Peralta extended his scoreless streak to 24 innings.
EXTRA BASES: Priester back in the saddle
⚾ After being scratched from a start a few days ago due to a sore right wrist, Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.44 ERA) is set to start Saturday against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (8-10, 3.87 ERA) in yet another quality pitching matchup this weekend. Priester hasn't lost in his last 10 decisions, which covers 15 outings. He allowed one run in 4⅓ innings in a 4-1 win over the Cubs in his last outing Aug. 21. Gausman gave up four runs over six innings Sunday in a 5-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.
⚾ Outfielder Jackson Chourio was not activated from the 10-day injured list following his recovery from a strained right hamstring. He had been expected to be in the lineup for the series opener vs. the Jays, but manager Pat Murphy said Chourio's extensive travel the past two days warranted another day off before getting back into full-time action. Chourio should be activated Saturday.
⚾ Right-handed reliever Rob Zastryzny was activated off the 15-day IL and right-hander Easton McGee was sent back to Triple-A Nashville. Zastryzny has been out since July 1 due to a rib stress reaction.
