Brewers saw something in Priester; now it's evident to all

MILWAUKEE -- After his outing on May 2, in which he allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks across 4 1/3 innings, Quinn Priester’s ERA sat at 5.79.

It was the second consecutive tough outing for Priester, but Brewers skipper Pat Murphy backed the 24-year-old righty.

“You can say Priester was awful if you want to, but there's some signs that you can see why we [traded for] him,” Murphy said at the time. “There's some signs there that show the kid's got really good stuff, and he's a great competitor.”

Since then, Priester has rewarded Murphy’s confidence with a strong run of pitching. That includes leading the way to his team notching a four-game series victory against the Cardinals with a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon at American Family Field.

There was little in the way of traffic for Priester, who gave up a run in the fourth inning on two singles and an RBI groundout but didn’t allow another runner to get into scoring position. He ended his day with just the lone run allowed over six innings, while also striking out three and walking none.

“Quinn was great,” Murphy said. “We've given him that opportunity, and he's riding it. He's just going.”

Priester needed some help in locking down the win, of course. He got it in the form of Christian Yelich homering for the first time since June 2 and Drew Avans and Sal Frelick contributing RBIs (the first of Avans’ career).

Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Nick Mears and Trevor Megill combined to hold St. Louis to one run over the last three frames. Megill rebounded from a 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a single by St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado, a bunt for a hit and a wild pitch to strand two runners in scoring position, striking out three to close out his 15th save.

That brings it back to Priester, who has earned the win in four straight outings.

Since that outing against the Cubs, he has made eight appearances (five starts) and has posted a 2.23 ERA to bring his season ERA down to 3.46. It’s almost like a switch has flipped for Priester. He hasn’t walked a batter in three of his last four outings. In the eight-game stretch, he has allowed one earned run or fewer six times.

While Priester said mechanical work with the pitching coaches has helped with the recent success, both he and Murphy noted increased confidence as a contributing factor.

“Just riding the momentum on these last couple starts,” Priester said. “You know that confidence plays a lot into that, too, where [you're] not being scared of the zone even a little bit and really forcing the issue in terms of getting contact.”

Said Murphy: “He believes he can do it. He's never been a full-time big leaguer. Now he knows he is. He's got support. He likes his infield. He's starting to get it.”

Priester also has done it in varying roles during this stretch. Milwaukee has had Priester provide bulk innings in relief (either after an opener or in a piggyback situation) when he doesn’t start. But whatever role Murphy has asked him to take on, Priester has been making it work well.

“'No excuses' type of mentality,” Priester said. “... If I come in the third inning or the fourth inning, make the pitch. Just because it's the third inning or fourth inning, there's no excuse to not make that pitch.

“Having that mindset, I think, has alleviated all of the, 'Oh, well, this feels different, and that is not something I'm typically used to.' Because the expectation is the same. So just go out there, do the job that's asked of me and try to exceed those expectations and help us win games.”

It has been an impressive run for the guy the Brewers acquired from the Red Sox less than two weeks into the season. He joined a new organization, and after his appearance on May 2, things didn’t appear to be going well.

But Priester has flipped the script and put together a very commendable stretch. Did Murphy see this eight-outing run coming when he made those comments after that game?

“Don't give me that credit, please,” he said.