CHICAGO -- A pair of four-seam fastballs from Freddy Peralta in the bottom of the first Tuesday night turned into back-to-back homers from White Sox hitters Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr.
Quickly, Peralta had put his Brewers in a hole -- but it didn’t take long for him to right the ship on the mound. He and catcher William Contreras saw batters being aggressive early in the count, particularly against the fastball. The battery made a quick adjustment, and the result was a very strong seventh outing of 2025 for Peralta.
After those consecutive homers at Rate Field, Peralta limited Chicago to just one hit and three walks. The 28-year-old righty also struck out five batters and ultimately completed six innings for just the second time all season, picking up his second quality start (first since April 2) and third ‘W’ in Milwaukee’s 7-2 victory.
Of the first 10 pitches of the game, Peralta threw his four-seamer six times. Once he and Contreras realized the White Sox’s aggressive, fastball-focused approach, Peralta only threw the four-seamer three times in his next 17 offerings.
He mixed in curveballs, sliders and changeups, keeping Chicago honest at the plate and helping him work through the sixth.
“They were on his heater early,” manager Pat Murphy said, “and he made a nice adjustment and showed that he can navigate through [when] someone's just jumping his heater.”
Of course, at different points in the game, Peralta peppered the White Sox with consistent fastballs. He wasn’t going to go away from it all game.
“For me, it's my best pitch,” Peralta said. “I was going to come back to my fastball, but I had to navigate a little bit earlier to let them know that I had all my other stuff working. I was able to throw for a strike whatever I needed, and then make it look like strike-to-ball. And as soon that I saw that, I was ready to come back with the fastball again.”
Peralta pitched through his first five innings without much support from his offense. Entering the sixth, the Brewers had only one hit -- left fielder Isaac Collins’ first career home run -- and trailed by a run. But in the top of the sixth, everyone in the lineup had a turn at the plate, using four singles, a walk, an intentional walk and a hit-by-pitch to flip the game in Milwaukee’s favor.
Peralta followed with a 1-2-3 shutdown bottom of the frame, and three relievers closed out the win.
Though his numbers have been great to start the season, one issue was few deeper starts.
Before Tuesday, Peralta had only pitched into the sixth inning in three of his first six starts. His numbers in the sixth, specifically, were his worst of any inning: He owned a 27.00 sixth-inning ERA, while batters posted a 1.029 OPS in the frame.
He hadn’t completed fewer than five innings in a start in ‘25, which is a good thing on its own. But getting over that hump in the sixth was something he was thinking about -- and it took him just five pitches (all four-seamers) to do it.
“I just tried to stay locked in, especially after a long [top of the sixth] inning for us,” Peralta said. “I just tried to stay hot. I was thinking about it myself, trying to remind myself, 'I got to get better in this inning. This is a good opportunity to bounce back.' As soon that I came out, I was hungry to finish that inning.”
While the Brewers have seen some roster turnover over the last few seasons -- whether through trade (i.e. current D-backs starter Corbin Burnes) or free agency (i.e. current Giants shortstop Willy Adames) -- Peralta has been a constant in the rotation since 2021. That season, his lone All-Star season, he finished with a 2.81 ERA. After Tuesday night, his ERA sits at 2.52 through seven starts.
Milwaukee continues to wait for a number of its rotation options to get healthy. That’s been the storyline all season. But Peralta has been a reliable arm, especially considering his back-to-back seasons with 30-plus starts.
The Brewers believe they can count on him. So far in ‘25, he’s proved them right.
“I feel really good,” Peralta said. “It's more important for me how I've been able to get the ball every five days. Feeling really good on the day that I'm supposed to pitch is all that matters for me.”