It was easy to see why the Milwaukee Brewers’ minds might not have been entirely focused on the action between the white lines at American Family Field on Friday night when they were defeated by the San Francisco Giants, 15-1, in a game they would quickly like to forget.
After shortstop Willy Adames was injured by a foul ball while standing on the top step of the dugout in the second inning, the Brewers’ focus was inevitably distracted for practically the entire game.
Craig Counsell, the manager, stated that “You’re concerned.”
Adames, the heartbeat of the Brewers who has won the club MVP award each of his first two seasons with the team, Adames left the stadium and was transported to the hospital for further imaging and testing after being struck by Brian Anderson’s foul ball of a fastball from Giants pitcher Alex Wood that went straight towards the first-base dugout.
“Initially from the sound it made, I thought it hit the cushioned pad,” said Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau. “The way they reacted to it, you’re getting scared, and then after a couple of seconds of them being on the bench I realized it was a little more serious than that. I heard it more than I saw it.”
After Adames was brought to the hospital, imaging tests revealed no fractures.
Adames will stay the night in the hospital and is probably going to be released on Saturday morning. He will need to spend some time on the injured list due to a concussion, but Counsell noted that things might have been much worse.
Willy Adames during blowout loss to the Giants
“He was alert and responsive as he left, and then we got pretty good news at the hospital, too,” Counsell said. “Obviously he’s in pain. But altogether, considering how terrifying that was, I believe it’s not awful news.”
After that, the Brewers performed poorly, which is understandable.
“It’s definitely a factor. I’ve always said it: WIlly is the catalyst for this team,” Brosseau said. “What he brings to this team, what he means to this team, to see him go down like that and really not have anybody know the severity of it, it’s pretty scary, pretty frightening.”
Just minutes after Adames was hit, Peralta, one of his closest friends and locker neighbor in the clubhouse, had to take the mound. In the following inning, he gave seven runs, but only two of them were earned because the Brewers, who were generally out of sorts, combined to make mistakes on three different ground balls.
“Freddy was the one who had to go out and pitch, so he was affected more than anyone else given how close they were,” Counsell said. “It just wasn’t a good night.”
JD Davis and Mitch Haniger both scored runs with doubles in the inning, and three batters later, Brett Wisely of the Giants hit a three-run home run to make the score 10-1. Peralta would have been out of the inning except for the errors.
“It was really hard for me because of some feelings inside me and all that,” Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta said. “I knew that I had a game and had to come back to the mound. But I had it in my mind. It was hard for me.”
Ethan Small, a reliever for Milwaukee, would then continue to allow San Francisco to tack on five more.
With no one out in the first inning against Wood, the Brewers loaded the bases but managed just one run on a grounder into a double play by Christian Yelich.
After leaving the stadium on Friday night, Peralta stated he would attempt to visit Adames.
We’ve known each for years,” Peralta said. “We’ve been together, friends together – close friends together – for like seven, eight years. It’s hard to see somebody that you love having that moment.”
Stay updated with Subscribing to our Sports Newsletter it’s completely free. Simply visit our website and enter your email address and there go.
