With closer Trevor Megill unavailable after Sunday’s 34-pitch outing, the Milwaukee Brewers turned to setup man Abner Uribe to secure the win Monday over Arizona. Notching his third save of the season, Uribe did not allow an earned run for a 17th straight appearance, a streak that covers that entire second half. While Megill typically gets the biggest spotlight, the former has not so quietly had one of the best seasons of any reliever in baseball. Knowing he might need to step in for Megill, Uribe was fully prepared for the job when it came.
Uribe steps up with Megill out, continuing his lights-out streak for Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers asked him pregame whether he could fill in, Uribe said through a translator, so he wasn’t caught off guard when he got the call. Indeed, with Aaron Ashby appearing earlier in the game, seeing anyone else take the mound in ninth would have been a surprise.
“I let them know that – you know, they’re the ones that make the decisions, and whatever decision they make, that I’ll be ready for the opportunity,” Uribe said.
Facing the 7-8-9 hitters, he retired the side in order, making the last play himself on a high chopper to his right. His gliding sidelong flip to first base beat the runner in plenty of time and Uribe commenced his patented skip celebration coming back toward the dugout.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it,” the enthusiastic fireballer admitted.
Converting his third save in five tries this season, Uribe lowered his ERA to 1.71 and added another strikeout to keep up his rate of 11.1 K/9. He’s been even more dominant lately: in the month of August, Uribe has whiffed 17 batters in 12 innings while allowing just six hits and four walks. To close out the Diamondbacks for the 7-5 victory, he needed just 11 pitches – nine of them for strikes.
As of Monday evening, his 2.0 bWAR overall ranks 12th among all relievers and is third on Milwaukee’s pitching staff behind Freddy Peralta (4.3) and Quinn Priester (2.1).
Barring extended arm fatigue, Megill should be good to go for Tuesday’s game. Having pitched two straight games, Uribe will likely take a seat even with his short outing Monday. He has not pitched on three consecutive days all season. Hopefully the breather will allow Megill to reset after a pair of blown saves his last two times out. Any of Jared Koenig, Nick Mears, or possibly Shelby Miller could see late-inning work in Uribe’s usual slot. Ashby should also be slated for a rest day after throwing 36 pitches to get five outs in game one of the series.
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