MILWAUKEE -- Mike Cameron's 17 years in the big leagues taught him that sometimes it takes just the smallest spark to fuel a turnaround.
And that’s just what he witnessed in the sixth inning on Sunday, when the Brewers capitalized in the wake of Cubs starter Shota Imanaga’s early exit and rode a four-run rally to a 4-0 victory at American Family Field. It denied Chicago what would have been its first series sweep in Milwaukee in 10 years -- and Cameron’s son, Daz, was right in the middle of it.
The spark came courtesy of Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather, whose first offering after Imanaga injured his hamstring was a run-scoring wild pitch. Daz Cameron’s RBI single and Caleb Durbin’s two-run double padded the lead, and Brewers pitchers Freddy Peralta, Jared Koenig, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill protected it by combining for a five-hit shutout to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I’m really proud of our ballclub to respond the way we did,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
Mike Cameron, a veteran leader for the 2008 Brewers team that snapped the franchise’s 26-year postseason drought, watched it all from the stands after arriving in Milwaukee hoping to see his son start against the lefty Imanaga. That didn’t happen, but Daz Cameron did get into the game as a replacement for injured right fielder Sal Frelick in the fourth inning and wound up delivering his first Brewers hit at a critical juncture of the game in the sixth.
Frelick was undergoing an MRI scan on Sunday evening to determine the severity of his injury, which comes with the Brewers already missing starting center fielder Garrett Mitchell (oblique) and 2024 Gold Glove Award finalist Blake Perkins (fractured shin). The backup plan at the moment is 28-year-old Cameron, who entered Sunday 0-for-4 with a walk over his first week with the Brewers.
“I try to be low-key when I go to places to see him play, but this is a little more special because I actually played hare,” said Mike Cameron. “He got a chance to run around on the field when he was here at 12 years old, so it’s definitely a unique experience.”
“It was exciting that he’s here,” Daz Cameron said. “Now that I’m seeing all the kids here [in the clubhouse], it’s bringing back a lot of memories.”
Mike Cameron was a Brewers regular, but Daz has been biding his time since a promotion from Triple-A Nashville, where he’d homered six times in 11 power-packed games following a trade from Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate.
Upon his call-up, the Camerons joined Tito and Terry Francona and Davey and Derrick May as the only father-son duos in Brewers history.
“Daz hasn’t got to play a ton, but we know what type of player he is,” Durbin said. “There’s a lot of confidence there when he’s up at the plate. With two outs, that was a big hit for him.”
After Cameron stole second base, Durbin’s two-run double represented another big hit for the Brewers, who had not led in any point of their previous three games while getting outscored by a 24-2 margin. Peralta gave his team a chance by holding the potent Cubs lineup scoreless on four hits through six innings before he departed at the 89-pitch mark with a minor groin issue.
“Since I got here this morning, I knew the importance of this game for this team, for me and the guys,” Peralta said. “We were going to do what we had to do to get a win and turn the page.”
By the bottom of the sixth, he finally had the run support that he the Brewers needed.
“You saw how the energy came in that inning,” said Peralta, who credited Christian Yelich for legging out a fielder’s choice to extend the inning on the play that saw Imanaga injured. “It was awesome. I’m happy to get some runs.”
The Brewers will aim to keep it going when the Astros come to Milwaukee on Monday night, but Mike Cameron expected his visit to be brief. He prefers to let Daz play without dad looking over his shoulder.
Does he miss playing?
“The pitching would kill me right now,” Mike Cameron said. “I don’t miss the sliders. I don’t miss any of the anxiety, the nerves that it brings. I’m kind of over that now. But I get a chance to see it now in a different perspective, and a different set of nerves, wishing that my kid will have an opportunity to play well. I know how tough it is to play at the Major League level.”