ST. LOUIS — The Brewers have been cautious on veteran left-hander Wade Miley since the first day of spring training given his injury history, hoping to avoid exactly what happened in a two-out two inning at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. I was there. Start with an athletic trainer for left latissimus dorsi muscle tension.
In the Brewers’ 3-2 ballgame win over the Cardinals, the 36-year-old went straight to the clubhouse for an evaluation while reliever Elvis Peguero took over. The Brewers have built around an elite starting rotation in the offseason, and Miley already has a year of free agency to fill a group led by All-Stars Corbyn Barnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, plus left-hander Eric Lauer. made a deal. Aaron Ashby and Adrian Hauser add depth.
A quarter of the regular season is over and things aren’t going according to plan.
Woodruff injured his right shoulder in the second week of April and will be out until late June at the earliest. Ashby has never pitched due to a left shoulder injury, and when manager Craig Counsell was asked about his recovery at the final homestand, he simply replied, “No updates.” Hauser missed his first five weeks with a groin injury and returned on the final road trip. Lauer got into a brawl last week that kept him out of the rotation. Colin Ray, who was starting in place of Woodruff, had a 5.52 ERA and was just an option for Triple-A Nashville this week.
Miley posted a 1.86 ERA through May and was a bright spot until his recent troubles. He started in the seventh inning against the Rockies in Denver on May 4, then allowed seven runs against the Dodgers at home last week and allowed 11 earned runs in the last six 2/3 innings. ing.
Tuesday’s departure was particularly sudden. After Miley pitched an inning of 1-2-3 on nine pitches, Nolan Arenado hit a tying home run in the bottom of the second, making Arenado’s five-game home run streak. Miley was pitching with two outs and one runner when catcher William Contreras visited the mound. Crouching behind home plate, Contreras signaled for the Brewers’ dugout.
But Miley seemed determined to keep going. But before throwing the first pitch to Cardinals left fielder Brendan Donovan, Counsell called off the bench and headed to the mound with head athletic trainer Scott Ballinger. Miley left the game.
His injury history includes a nine injury list from 2017 to 2022, including an elbow and shoulder injury that kept him out of four months last season with the Cubs. His shoulder problem was a subscapular injury, the same injury that took Woodruff out this year.
But Miley is tough when healthy. His 102 wins since the start of 2011 rank him ninth among left-handed pitchers. He was an All-Star with the D-backs in 2012 and a no-hitter with the Reds in 2021.
