Cincinnati Reds are the definition of pesky. There is usually one or two teams all year that seems to give your team fits and no one else. Reds are that team for the Milwaukee Brewers. They came into Wednesday afternoon’s game losing six straight games to the Reds. But they were able to break that streak winning 5-4 yesterday afternoon with a hard-fought comeback. The game was unique in nature because Jhoulys Chacin left with rib cage discomfort and will likely miss 4-6 weeks with that injury. Brewers had to rely on their bullpen, and they did in a big way.

Player of the Game: Freddy Peralta – Whoa, fastball Freddy. This season did not start as expected for Peralta. He had a job as a starter at the age of 23, and it did not work out for him. He struggled mightily, and the Brewers had him in the bullpen. He bounced around the pen from being a long reliever to the team trying him out as a legitimate one inning guy. He closed the game out yesterday with Josh Hader pitching the seventh and eighth. Peralta did a damn good job with two strikeouts and no hits. Brewers may be on to something.

Honorable Mention: Yasmani Grandal – He did not provide one of the two big flys but he did drive in the biggest two runs of the game. Brewers trailed 4-2 in the fifth inning when the Brewers tacked on one run with the hope for more. Grandal stepped up the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He delivered a shot just past shortstop Jose Iglesias into left field for the two runs to put the Brewers in the lead. It was a good piece of hitting from Yaz.

The Thing I liked: Bullpen stood tall today – I mentioned Peralta’s save but the whole bullpen deserves some credit for this win. Chacin went down in the third inning, and the pen was required to pick up the slack. They did just that going six scoreless innings. After Chacin gave up six hits in three innings, the Brewers pen gave up three for the rest of the game. Josh Hader was terrific with five strikeouts in two innings.

The Thing I didn’t like: Chacin’s injury highlights the need for pitching – If Chacin hadn’t got hurt, the time for him as a starter was probably up. I doubt the team could continue with him on the mound. But now that he is hurt, the team is in desperate need for some pitching. What that pitching is, I’m unsure. Milwaukee might need two guys. Does that mean going after pitchers like Mike Minor and Mike Leake? Who will not cost much but will add to the rotation. We shall see.

Next up: Brewers enjoy a full day off at home before getting ready to play the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. It will be Gio Gonzalez against Jose Quintana. Gonzalez did alright in his first start back from injury battling Zack Greinke on the road. Gio had a great start versus the Cubs at Wrigley in May where he shut them out. Jose Quintana has been known in the past to dominate the Crew but his last few starts have been less than stellar with some bad starts versus the Crew.

Charlie.