The Milwaukee Brewers are red-hot, and Freddy Peralta knows it. After a 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday at Truist Park, the Brewers extended their winning streak to five games and reached a league-best 69-44 record, 25 games over .500, faster than any other team in franchise history.
“What we are doing in here right now is special, and we just have to keep doing it and just keep trusting in each other. People don't always believe in us, but…we've done a lot of great things. We are just coming to compete every day,” Peralta said, reflecting on the remarkable run, per Todd Rosiak of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Peralta, who improved to a National League-leading 13-5 record, allowed just one run on four hits and three walks over five labor-intensive innings, striking out seven and throwing a season-high-tying 108 pitches.
Furthermore, his effort helped Milwaukee maintain their four-game lead in the NL Central over the Cubs and extend their advantage as the top team in MLB by 3.5 games over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Even after having one of the league's lowest payrolls and a roster featuring several rookies and mid-season acquisitions, manager Pat Murphy's club has leaned into a throwback formula of pitching, defense, speed, and small ball.
The Brewers lead MLB in infield hits (121) and rank second in stolen bases (125), trailing only the Rays. They’ve also posted a 44-16 record over their last 60 games, an all-time best stretch in franchise history.
Tuesday’s win showed Milwaukee’s scrappy offensive approach. In the top of the fourth inning, Blake Perkins led off with a single and stole second, his club’s 125th swipe of the season. Joey Ortiz and Caleb Durbin loaded the bases before Christian Yelich’s infield single tied the game 1-1.
A wild pitch during Andrew Vaughn’s at-bat gave Milwaukee the lead, then Vaughn lined a two-run single to cap a 12-pitch duel. Vaughn is now slashing .375 with six home runs, 26 RBIs, and a 1.115 OPS in 21 games with Milwaukee.
Moreover, Isaac Collins added two more RBIs in the seventh inning, continuing his stellar stretch after hitting a three-run homer in the series opener. Brice Turang chipped in with an RBI single in the sixth.
Milwaukee’s bullpen also delivered, with Nick Mears escaping a sixth-inning jam by striking out Jurickson Profar after falling behind 3-0.
As Murphy put it, “They're hungry. They play hard. We try to create whatever we can create. I feel like we're always hanging on the cliff, you know what I mean? … You know, ‘risk’ isn't a word we worry about. We're not trying to ever play safe. We just want to go for it, and I think they kind of bought in.”
