Freddy Peralta to Start Milwaukee Brewers' Must-Win NL Wild Card Game vs. D-Backs

The Milwaukee Brewers are turning to Freddy Peralta with their season on the line Wednesday night.

Milwaukee lost Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday, falling 6-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. With Brandon Woodruff injured, All-Star right-hander Corbin Burnes got the start, and he picked up loss after allowing four earned runs in 4.0 innings.

Peralta will be the Brewers' starting pitcher in the do-or-die Game 2, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy first reported Tuesday night.

Like Woodruff and Burnes, Peralta is a former All-Star, representing Milwaukee at the Midsummer Classic in 2021. Peralta posted a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-1.000 WHIP that season, and while he hasn't been able to quite match that level of production since, he was still one of the Brewers' most reliable starters in 2023.

Peralta went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.117 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings across 30 starts this year. The Brewers went 17-13 in Peralta's starts.

Milwaukee has made the postseason in five of Peralta's six seasons with the team. While the 27-year-old righty has only tossed 8.0 innings across three playoff outings in that time, he boasts a 1.13 ERA, 1.000 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his postseason career.

However, the Brewers are 0-3 when Peralta pitches in the playoffs.

If Peralta is able to break that streak and help Milwaukee force a Game 3, either Wade Miley or Colin Rea will start the winner-takes-all contest on Thursday.

Game 2 is scheduled to start at 7:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Game 3, if necessary, would get underway at 7:08 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The winner of the series will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.