It helps having pitcher with 18 MLB starts available in a pinch. The Brewers added Chad Patrick as the 27th man for their doubleheader in Chicago.
CHICAGO — The Milwaukee Brewers pitching depth has been one of the reasons the team brought the best record in baseball to Wrigley Field on Aug. 18 for a doubleheader, but Chad Patrick hasn't been a beneficiary.
Despite 18 credible big-league starts after earning a surprise roster spot out of camp, there hasn't been room to keep Patrick in the rotation, forcing the 27-year-old back to Class AAA Nashville. The Monday doubleheader with the Cubs offered Patrick another opportunity to shine, albeit likely in a short-term capacity as the "27th man" for the dual contests against the Cubs.
Patrick will start Game 2, assuming forecasted thunderstorms give the Brewers a window.
"He's obviously pitched really well up here," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "We're thankful we have that guy with how many starts he has, 18 starts in the big leagues; that's more than a lot of teams have when you're bringing up a guy for the doubleheader.
"This guy was not planning on being in the big leagues this year, but maybe planning on getting a shot. He got a shot and just took the ball and went with it. Him and William (Contreras) matched up very well and advanced the ball, he turned into a major-league pitcher. He showed some signs at the end where his stuff wasn't quite doing the same thing, we sent him down for a little bit of a reset. He responded to that pretty well."
Since getting sent to Nashville, Patrick has a 1-3 mark and 4.68 ERA. He had a 3-7 record in the big leagues this year but a 3.52 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
He's just one piece of the puzzle for a well-worked pitching staff, one that has played in back-to-back extra-innings games and is immersed in a stretch of 19 baseball games over 18 days.
"Every team goes through this, where you have a long stretch of games and your pitching health is utmost concern," Murphy said. "It's day-to- day. You can plan whatever you want, but then things happen, and it's day-to-day. We're doing it every day but it's part of the job."
Murphy credited assistant general manager Matt Kleine as the point person monitoring the long-term pitching layout, consulting with Brewers pitching coaches and medical staff.
"He's a genius at the scheduling of it and rules about options and all that kind of stuff," Murphy said.
Isaac Collins returns to the Brewers from paternity list
The Brewers returned Isaac Collins from the paternity list in advance of the Cubs series and optioned Tyler Black, though Black remained with the team as a taxi-squad member in Chicago as protection against injury, joining Craig Yoho and Carlos Rodriguez in that capacity.
With Collins back, the Brewers are back to relative full strength in the outfield; the team had recalled Steward Berroa and Black to fill the gaps in Cincinnati when Collins left the team and Blake Perkins went on bereavement leave. Perkins was back for the series finale against the Reds.
Collins was not in the Game 1 lineup against the Cubs.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chad Patrick back with Brewers for Game 2 of doubleheader vs Cubs
Category: Baseball
