Brewers' Anderson opposes Pirates on short rest (Sep 13, 2017)
MILWAUKEE -- Chase Anderson will start on short rest for the first time in his career Wednesday when he takes the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers in the finale of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.
Needing to replace Jimmy Nelson, who was originally slated to make the start but was instead lost for the season when he injured his right shoulder on Friday, Brewers manager Craig Counsell opted to go with Anderson, who threw only 67 pitches over five innings as Milwaukee routed the Cubs on Saturday.
"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision (to remove Anderson from his last start), with all the runs we scored," Counsell said about a game the Brewers won 15-2. "Just seeing how he responded, he feels good to go and is in position to do it."
Anderson got off to the best start of his career, going 6-2 with a 2.89 ERA through his first 16 outings. However, he strained a left oblique muscle in a June 28 start against the Cincinnati Reds and spent the next seven weeks on the disabled list.
He returned to the rotation Aug. 20 and has gone 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in five starts since.
Counsell said he thinks that Anderson's lengthy absence, which cut down on his workload significantly, may be a blessing in disguise as the Brewers try to fill the void left by Nelson and still try to chase down a postseason berth.
"I think it'll be really good for us," said Anderson, who beat Pittsburgh once already this season and is 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in nine career starts against the Pirates. "I'm looking forward to it. Last Saturday wasn't very much stress. They were pretty easy innings -- though you never want to say 'easy' against the Cubs. It was minimally stressful but physically, I felt good getting out of that outing with 60-some pitches in five innings. I think it's going to be a good thing."
The Pirates will send right-hander Tyler Glasnow (2-6, 7.45 ERA) to the mound for his 13th start of the season and second against the Brewers. He took the loss vs. Milwaukee after allowing four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings on May 7.
Glasnow hasn't thrown a pitch in the big leagues since June 9, when he was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits over four innings in a 12-7 loss to the Miami Marlins. He was later optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
"It's unplugging him from this vacuum, clearing the space," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said after Glasnow was sent down. "There's good stuff to pull, and I think he walks away with an honest evaluation of why he was sent down, which was, at the end of the day, performance."
Glasnow got back on track at Indianapolis, going 9-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 15 starts. He was brought back to Pittsburgh when rosters expanded Sept. 1.
"It was at the point where I went down and it was like nothing else, it's the worst it can get right now," Glasnow said. "I was up here, I didn't do very well, so it was the time to make a big change, and it was kind of like the perfect time for it. It clicked my first start in the minor leagues, and I carried it on through, so I'm just looking to do the same thing here.
"Just kind of a whole change of mechanics and switched everything up, and fastball (velocity) went up. I had two off-speed pitches, so it's a lot easier to pitch with three pitches than half of one. ... I'm excited to ... continue to do that and keep getting hitters out."
