MILWAUKEE -- With Nestor Cortes set to come off the injured list, the Brewers are facing some tough decisions with their rotation.
Cortes has been sidelined since April 6 with a left elbow flexor strain. He threw 93 pitches Thursday night for Triple-A Nashville in his fourth, and likely final, rehab start. He gave up two runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 innings with four hits, one walk and nine strikeouts.
He made two starts this season for the Brewers before going down with the injury. He’s 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA.
The Brewers have a surplus of starting pitching and a formidable current rotation of Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff and Jose Quintana, who took the mound on Saturday night against the Marlins in a 7-4 loss.
The Brewers’ 3.33 rotation ERA is tops in the National League. Peralta and rookie sensation Misiorowski were named to the All-Star team. Woodruff has returned to ace form after missing all of last year recovering from shoulder surgery, while Priester has been solid throughout the season, especially over the past two months.
Quintana, who has been reliable in the back of the rotation, got roughed up a bit on Saturday night, giving up seven hits and five runs, although only two were earned, in five innings. He struck out two and walked two in the 99-pitch outing and was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 7-4.
Likely not the performance Quintana wanted when spots in the rotation are at a premium.
“I don’t think he was great. He was behind in the count a lot,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Changeup wasn’t a factor like it normally is. [Miami] is playing great and they are getting clutch hits, but he could have been out of that mess.”
Heriberto Hernández belted a three-run homer off Quintana with two outs in the fifth to put the Marlins in front 5-3, although all three runs in the inning were unearned after an error by Brewers second baseman Brice Turang.
“I like the guy on the mound every time, so he’s entitled to not pitching great [on occasion],” Murphy said.
Quintana, 36, is in his first season with the Brewers. He missed more than two weeks in May with a left shoulder impingement, but has, for the most part, been effective in his role.
Quintana said he struggled with his execution against the Marlins.
“They are really aggressive. When they are so aggressive, it’s really good for us when you execute,” said Quintana, who also surrendered a leadoff home run to Agustín Ramírez in the fourth. “When you can’t execute is when you get the hard times.”
Earlier this season, the Brewers also faced a dilemma with their rotation and asked starter Aaron Civale to move the bullpen. Civale didn’t like the move and requested a trade. He was eventually shipped to the White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn.
The Brewers, who have lost three of four after winning 11 straight, showed some signs of life on offense. Vaughn had a double and belted his eighth homer of the season, while Jackson Chourio extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games with a fourth-inning double, one of three two-base hits in the inning for the Brewers. But an 0-for-4 night for Christian Yelich snapped his 30-game on-base streak.
Sal Frelick returned to the leadoff spot in the lineup after a stint on the injured list due to a hamstring injury. Frelick, who ended up missing seven games, singled in his first at-bat.
Woodruff will try to get the Brewers back on track when he takes the mound on Sunday. He’s 4-0 with a 2.53 ERA in five career starts against the Marlins, including a 3-1 win on July 6.