MILWAUKEE -- Wily Peralta hasn't been consistently sharp early in 2015, but the young right-hander has also been victim to a complete lack of run support during his starts.
So it must have felt as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders when the Milwaukee Brewers jumped Dodgers spot starter Joe Wieland for five runs in the first inning Wednesday.
Peralta took things from there, allowing just two earned runs over eight innings in Milwaukee's 6-3 victory over Los Angeles at Miller Park.
"Oh man, it feels great to get five runs right away in the first inning," Peralta said. "I think it was the second time this season I've had the lead. You then go out there and attack hitters. That's what I did tonight."
After Carlos Gomez led off with a single, Scooter Gennett blasted his first home run of the season to put the Brewers up 2-0. Ryan Braun then drew a walk in front of Adam Lind, who hit a towering two-run blast to right.
Four batters into the game, the Brewers led, 4-0. Later in the inning, Jean Segura stole second base and scored on a two-out RBI single from Martin Maldonado.
"It was a good first inning. I think guys jumped on him," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "We had good at-bats that whole first inning -- real good at-bats. To give Wily a lead like that on a night where he was pretty darn good you feel pretty good. We did a great job. You jump on them, big inning, and it's that big inning that wins you the game."
Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner hit consecutive singles to start the second, but Peralta worked out of trouble by fanning Andre Ethier looking and inducing Scott Van Slyke to hit into a double play.
The Dodgers scored an unearned run on a throwing error by Segura in the fourth and cut Milwaukee's lead to 5-2 on a solo home run from rookie center fielder Joc Pederson in the fifth.
Peralta then settled in to retire 10 of the final 11 he faced, with the only blemish being another Pederson solo home run in the eighth.
"To me it was just easy, effortless and great life in the zone," Counsell said of Peralta. "It was a really easy effort for me, how he pitched tonight. He was really in control -- no walks was great. He just did it was ease tonight and that was what was encouraging for me to see."
With a 2.25 ERA over his last three starts, Peralta seems to be getting into a stretch in which he's locked in. The 25-year-old was sitting consistently at 96 mph with his fastball the entire night, while he had good command of his slider.
"I've been working on my mechanics in the bullpen," Peralta said. "They are feeling better the last few starts. Tonight I got into a good rhythm. I didn't try to throw it too hard, and the life with the fastball was there.
"When I'm going good, that's the thing that I do. I don't try to do too much. That's when I locate my pitches better. Tonight I was able to do that."
Peralta entered Wednesday tied for the second-worst run support in baseball at 1.67 runs per start. The Brewers had scored a grand total of 10 runs in the five games he's started, with four of those having come during his first start of the season.
The young right-hander surrendered just two earned runs over six innings against St. Louis on April 25 and just one run over six innings in Chicago on May 1 but took the loss in both outings.
"It was awesome to throw up a crooked number like that, especially for Wily," Gennett said. "It seems like he goes out there and shuts them down and we throw up one run for him. It was nice to give him some breathing room early."
The Brewers have now won five of their last seven games and have a chance Thursday to take three of four from the National League West-leading Dodgers.
"This team is very confident," Gennett said. "Now that things are turning around we are starting to get some higher energy and some swag out there. It is nice to see."
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