Peralta picked up his first career save Wednesday against the Reds, and manager Craig Counsell wants to keep him in a high-leverage relief role going forward, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The right-hander struck out two and did not allow a baserunner while throwing 19 pitches.
Given how the Brewers' rotation pieces have been dropping like flies, Counsell may be overruled at some point by the front office if Peralta is needed as a spot starter. However, it sounds like the Brewers may have found a new go-to righty at the back of the bullpen. Coming into play Wednesday, Peralta boasted a 2.32 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 31 innings of relief. He has been touching the upper-90s with his fastball out of the bullpen. In this contest, Josh Hader was called upon in a key spot in the seventh inning and also pitched the eighth before Peralta came in for the ninth. Hader will still probably get the majority of the save chances, but Peralta could get a handful of opportunities over the rest of the season if he remains in this role.