Milwaukee Brewers: 3 observations from their home opening drubbing of New York Mets

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Jesse Winker (33) hits an RBI single during the third inning of their game against the New York Mets Monday, April 3, 2023, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis / © MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK

That’s one way to start the season at American Family Field.

The Milwaukee Brewers used a seven-run 5th inning highlighted by a Brice Turang grand slam to dismantle the New York Mets 10-0 on Monday afternoon.

Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta pitched six strong and struck out seven. Bryse Wilson is the only reliever who hadn’t pitched yet this season, pitched three innings, and was credited with the save.

Milwaukee’s performance on Monday was highlighted by these three guys.

1. Brice Turang’s grand slam to break the game open

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

What else would it be?

Brice Turang having his first career big league home run be a grand slam in his first home game and to do it in front of his parents? You can’t script anything better than that.

Turang is a part of the youth movement in Milwaukee and based on how he’s played so far, you wonder if he should have been called up sooner.

I will temper expectations slightly because while this is a good start for a young player, everybody in the majors gets figured out and there’s not enough tape on him yet for the pitcher to figure out what his weaknesses are at the plate.

But so far Turang’s play on the field has been impressive.

2. Brian Anderson hit Milwaukee’s first homer of the season

Brian Anderson of the Brewers hits a home run off Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco in the fourth inning on April 3, 2023.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

No not the talented Brewers broadcaster the other Brian Anderson that was signed this offseason.

Anderson took an 89-MPH fastball from Mets starter Carlos Carrasco and drove it out to deep center to extend the Brewer lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning.

This will be a vital year for Anderson as he’s seeking to play 100 games for the first time since 2019 and will be filling in at third for Luis Urias who is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a hamstring injury.

Anderson later drove in two more runs on an RBI single to increase the Milwaukee lead to 6-0.

3. Freddy Peralta found his groove after a shaky first inning.

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) and catcher William Contreras (24) talk during the first inning of their game against the New York Mets Monday, April 3, 2023, at American Family Field in Milwaukee Wis. Mark Hoffman/ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

The performance of Freddy Peralta cannot be understated in Monday’s game.

Peralta after navigating through the 1st inning, settled down for six shutout innings, including retiring 10 straight batters at one point.

When he first burst onto the scene in Milwaukee, he was known as “Fastball Freddy,” but now Peralta has started to utilize his breaking pitches. Peralta kept the Mets’ offense off balance by peppering them with a mix of sliders and curveballs (Peralta struck out three Mets batters with his breaking pitches.)

The key for Freddy this season is getting those breaking balls over for strikes, and not relying heavily on his fastball, because if he can do that he will become a more complete pitcher.