A sigh of relief likely came from the Milwaukee Brewers dugout when Alfredo Figaro walked off the mound Tuesday night after giving them five innings in a spot start.
Sure, three home runs and four earned runs wasn't the ideal final line, but Figaro gave the Brewers the innings they desperately needed.
By the time the final out of Tuesday's game was recorded just before the clock struck midnight, Figaro's efforts were all but forgotten. Losing a game in the 14th inning is tough in a variety of ways, but the Brewers lost and further taxed their bullpen by making them work nine innings.
"We burned through a lot of guys in the bullpen," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Hopefully we get a good start (Wednesday)."
The task of saving the bullpen Wednesday falls on the shoulders of right-hander Marco Estrada. Only Tom Gorzelanny didn't pitch Tuesday and will be needed Wednesday. Left-hander Michael Gonzalez has pitched three days in a row, while right-handers John Axford and Burke Badenhop have worked back-to-back days.
The Brewers should be able to cover the late innings with Gorzelanny and Francisco Rodriguez, but they have no room for a short start or another extra innings game. Estrada has given Milwaukee two of its three starts of seven innings or more in May, and he'll need to do it again Wednesday.
Something working in Milwaukee's favor is the fact Minnesota is in the same boat. The Twins got a shorter start out of Scott Diamond than the Brewers got out of Figaro, and Minnesota is one of the few teams that has worked its bullpen more than Milwaukee.
"It's tough on both clubs," Roenicke said. "Hopefully you get good pitching tomorrow. We've got enough bullpen guys that can come back and throw again tomorrow, we just don't have any length."
Roenicke left his pitchers as "TBA" for the weekend series in Philadelphia as the team discussed where to slide Mike Fiers into the mix. Though Fiers worked three innings and threw 41 pitches Tuesday on just two day rest, he's still likely to start one of the games against the Phillies.
"We're still hoping he can bounce back and pitch for us," Roenicke said. "He did a nice job."
Segura's historic night: Lost in yet another tough loss was another night to remember for young shortstop Jean Segura.
The 23-year-old became the first player since Adrian Gonzalez in 2009 to have six hits in a game, joining Johnny Briggs (1973) and Kevin Reimer (1993) as the only players to do it with the Brewers.
Has Segura ever had six hits in a game before in his life?
"Never," Segura said. "Only in Nintendo."
His 6-for-7 night raised his batting average to .365, blowing past Reds first baseman Joey Votto for the National League lead. Segura's fifth hit of the night tied the game in the ninth inning, while the sixth hit kept hope alive with two outs in the bottom of the 14th.
While he called getting six hits in a game "amazing", Segura wasn't celebrating afterward.
"It doesn't matter how good you are if we lost," Segura said. ". . . We are a team. Everybody together, we are a family here. We play as a team. If we lose, we lose, everybody."
Narveson to begin rehab: Brewers left-hander Chris Narveson will start a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Nashville.
Narveson has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 8 with a sprained left middle finger. Because he's pitched just two innings this season, Narveson is going to need at least a few starts with the Sounds before he's ready to return to the Brewers.
Milwaukee plans to stretch Narveson as a starter while he's rehabbing, but he'll work just two innings in his first outing before beginning to lengthen out.
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