Milwaukee Brewers needed a stopper. When you need a stopper, the usual thought isn’t the fifth starter. But Freddy Peralta got the job done this evening. Peralta went through the Cubs’ lineup like a hot knife through butter. He pitched great this evening, and Milwaukee got enough offense to carry them. If you didn’t watch the game, the box score says five hits and think ‘Damn they still didn’t do much in the hit column.’ Not true! They had a lot of hard-hit balls. They were just right at Chicago defenders plus the Cubs made some nice plays in the field. I would not overreact to that and enjoy the victory.

FIVE STARS
Freddy Peralta – We heard all the hype about Freddy Peralta coming out of Spring Training. People were all about the Peralta hype train. He lived it up to it thus far. Peralta pitches five innings, one hit allowed, strikes out eight batters. Peralta did four batters, but man, he had some electric stuff tonight. Compare this to how he pitched against Chicago at the start of last year, it’s night and day. The future is bright with Fred. And it’s a good reminder to take it one step at a time.

FOUR STARS
Brent Suter – What a game from The Raptor. As Craig Counsell said after the game, that should be a save. Suter pitched three innings and did not allow a hit. He only had one baserunner via a walk and struck out two. He did a great job bridging the gap in this one. It’s good to see Suter have a successful start to the season after the disaster in Los Angeles last year. He deserves to have a nice bounce back.

THREE STARS
Travis Shaw – Yes, Travis Shaw only had one hit. But the one hit mattered with Shaw going over the left-center fence. Shaw hit a three-run home run and provided most of the offense for the Brewers tonight. It was great to see Milwaukee get out in front for the first time this season. Shaw made his general manager smart after dealing Orlando Arcia to Atlanta that he can be an everyday third baseman again.

TWO STARS
Brewers hitting in spots where the Cubs were – Chicago did a great job with their defense tonight. They were in all the right spots. Milwaukee had so many shots that should have been hit, but alas they were outs. That’s frustrating. There isn’t much you can do in those situations, besides hope the ball drifts a little left or right.

ONE STAR
Willson Contreras – Dude, settle down. He got dinged by the Brewers again with a pitch. Milwaukee was up 4-0 in the ninth inning. No one is trying to hit Contreras yet he reacts like a drunken cast member from Vanderpump Rules (RIP). Look, you crowd the plate, you get hit. That’s what happens. No one is going to lob softballs in there. Understand baseball one time for me!

NEXT UP
Milwaukee faces Kyle Hendricks on Wednesday night. I’d rather drink paint honestly. Hendricks is so good against the Brewers. We’ll see if the Brewers can get on him tomorrow. Brandon Woodruff goes for Milwaukee. He did alright at Wrigley Field last year. We’ll see if he can do it a little better this time around.

Charlie.