MILWAUKEE -- Right-hander Quinn Priester had initially been the Brewers’ probable starter to open the weekend series against the Cubs. That’s not how it ultimately went down Friday night at American Family Field.
Earlier in the day, Milwaukee announced left-hander Tyler Alexander as the starter (in the role of an opener). It wasn’t about gamesmanship, as the team informed Chicago well in advance about the change.
Manager Pat Murphy noted pregame that hitters at the top of the Cubs’ order are no slouches against lefties, but he still went with Alexander to open — which brought outcomes like left fielder Ian Happ (a switch-hitter) hitting right-handed in his first at-bat and right fielder Kyle Tucker starting with a left-on-left matchup.
A big part of the thinking behind using the opener, though, was essentially to give the top of Chicago’s lineup one less look at Priester. It was a way to help protect the 24-year-old, in a sense. But the result didn’t turn out the way Murphy hoped.
Alexander exited with two outs in the first, after he’d already given up a run and left runners at the corners. Priester came in and let a second run score on an RBI single, and then an inning later, he gave up seven en route to a 10-0 Brewers loss.
“A combination of making bad pitches with two strikes and walking guys,” Priester said of his second-inning issues. “I think we probably would've had a better result if we did one of those things -- made better pitches with two strikes, or limited those walks to force me to make pitches that I just straight up didn't end up making.”
In that second frame, Priester faced all nine batters (shortstop Dansby Swanson twice); all but one reached base. Most of the traffic came on singles (three) and walks (two), but a grand slam from Cubs first baseman Michael Busch and a solo homer from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong broke the game open.
Priester said it was just “a really, really poor second inning.” Nobody would argue against that.
But Murphy found some positives in what Priester did the rest of his outing. He struck out four over his last three scoreless innings, giving up just two walks and retiring the last seven batters he faced.
The second inning can’t just be pushed aside, of course. Priester himself said, “A little bit of good doesn't make up for the bad.” Murphy, though, felt it was positive to see him grind out a few more frames after that second. And he did it without needing to face the heart of the order a third time.
“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. “There's some signs there that show the kid's got really good stuff, and he's a great competitor.”
Milwaukee acquired Priester from Boston via trade April 7. That came the day after the Brewers placed left-hander Nestor Cortes on the injured list, leaving righty Freddy Peralta as the lone healthy arm expected to be in the rotation at the start of Spring Training. Six starters are currently on the IL.
Priester, the Pirates’ 2019 first-round pick, hasn’t found a high level of success so far in parts of three Major League seasons. He’s had some good spots, but he’s also had his down moments. His season ERA is 5.79 and his career ERA is 6.15 thanks to seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings Friday.
The Brewers could possibly send him down, considering he does have Minor League options left. That would be a much easier call, though, if they had more rotation options available.
Talking about Priester before the game, Murphy was frank in saying, “He’s not a finished product. He's got a ways to go.” Whether getting there continues with Milwaukee or in the Minors, it seems Murphy still believes in Priester.
“You got to learn from your mistakes,” Murphy said. “You have to brush up on things that are getting you in trouble. If you're getting behind in the count a lot, or your secondary stuff is inconsistent, or if your third pitch needs a little more polish, or you need to learn to hold runners. These are all things he's in the middle of.
“He's going to be a great one, I think. I really do. I love the kid and I love the competitor. I think he's going to be really good.”