MINNEAPOLIS — With five straight series wins and an 8 1/2-game lead in the National League Central entering Friday, the Brewers might soon get back two key figures to their second-half surge.
Shortstop Willy Adames, who missed his third straight game on Friday in Minnesota with a right quadriceps injury, could return to the lineup on Saturday as the designated hitter in the American League park. Starter Freddy Peralta, on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, could return to the rotation by the end of the current road trip.
Adames, who’s hit .295 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs in 81 games since being acquired by the Brewers in May, ran on the field before the game and was scheduled to hit in the indoor cages. He will do the same before Saturday’s game and is slated to be in the lineup if everything goes well.
“It’s good signs so far,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We wanted to do a little bit of progression to make sure he didn’t recreate anything. He didn’t recreate anything running early here, so he’ll hit, we’ll give him the rest of the day to recover and, hopefully, tomorrow goes well as well.”
Adames has been a constant in Milwaukee’s lineup since the trade from Tampa Bay. He’s missed just one game while the Brewers have gone from third in the NL Central to first place.
He had been playing through some discomfort for most of the previous week, but after he tweaked his leg in the first inning of the Brewers’ win over the Reds on Tuesday coming out of an off-day, the club opted for an extra-cautious approach and removed him from the game.
Playing in Minnesota allows Counsell to ease Adames back in at designated hitter, putting less stress on his legs than returning immediately to shortstop.
“It just lessens the work that we have asked him to do and lessens the exposure for another day,” Counsell said. “So that’s a good thing.”
Caution was also the approach with Peralta.
The first-time All-Star left his Aug. 18 start in St. Louis after two innings with what he described to Counsell as a “scratchy” sensation in his shoulder. Milwaukee decided to give Peralta a break and placed him on the injured list.
The right-hander threw a bullpen session on Friday, and the positive outcome means that Peralta is nearing a return to the rotation.
“Freddy threw a bullpen today and that went very well, too,” Counsell added. “Freddy’s on track to be back in the rotation at the end of this road trip [or] on the start of this homestand.”
After leaving Minnesota, the Brewers travel for a four-game series in San Francisco. They return on Sept. 3 against St. Louis.