Brewers Rotation Finally Healthy For Final Push Of Regular Season

Ever since May, when Freddy Peralta left a start with a shoulder injury, the Milwaukee Brewers rotation has been at less than full strength.

There’s been a myriad of injuries happening to this starting rotation group seemingly one right after the other. As soon as one would get healthy or be close to returning, another would go down. It’s been a vicious cycle over the last few months.

But now, as the regular season nears the end and the Brewers need to make one last push to make the postseason for the fifth straight year, the rotation is fully healthy once more.

Aaron Ashby was activated from the IL on September 20th, followed by Eric Lauer on the 23rd, and then Freddy Peralta on the 25th. None of them went on rehab assignments to the minor leagues, there simply wasn’t enough time.

As a result of the lack of rehab appearances, the first outings for each of these three were relatively short. Ashby went just two innings against the Mets, Lauer went 2.2 IP against the Reds, and Peralta also went only two innings. Neither Ashby nor Peralta gave up any earned runs, but the Brewers did rely heavily on their bullpen in these games.

Going forward, the Brewers are clearly going to need more length from these three pitchers, but just having them back out there and stretching them back out is extremely important. They’ll no longer have to rely on guys like Jason Alexander to make starts or Matt Bush to be an opener.

Every game is the biggest game of the season the rest of the way. There is no more wiggle room. They sit a game and a half out of the postseason with nine games to play. Every loss either sets them further back, or is a missed opportunity to gain ground on the Phillies. For the Brewers, having trusted arms like Peralta, Ashby, and Lauer out there on the mound will give the team and the fans more confidence in their ability to win and a higher likelihood that they can win these remaining games.

This team was built around the strength of their starting rotation and designed to succeed because the rotation would be so dominant. That hasn’t happened this year, and a large part of that is due to the injuries this group has suffered throughout the year. They were fully healthy in April and most of May, and the team went 32-19 in those two months. From June onward, they’re 50-52. That dropoff is no coincidence and it started even before the Hader trade.

Now that the rotation is finally fully healthy again, perhaps the Brewers actually stand a chance to make it back to the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

Milwaukee needs some help to get into the postseason, and while they don’t know if they’ll get it from the Phillies opponents, the cavalry has arrived from within with the return of all their injured starting pitchers.