Milwaukee Brewers News Page 87 - MLB

Freddy Peralta - May drop appeal after Sunday start Peralta implied that he could drop his appeal of a five-game suspension following his start Sunday against the Cubs, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Impact Peralta was handed the ban Wednesday after he was deemed to have intentionally thrown at Rays outfielder Jose Siri in Tuesday's 8-2 win. The right-hander was ejected from the game immediately after hitting Siri, who then exchanged punches with Brewers reliever Abner Uribe following his next plate appearance in the eighth inning, inciting a benches-clearing brawl. Peralta seemingly appealed the suspension to give the Brewers more time to prepare for his absence, as it doesn't sound as though he's expecting a reduction in his five-game ban following the appeal process. With that in mind, fantasy managers should prepare for Peralta to have his next turn through the rotation skipped, with Milwaukee preparing to turn to a spot starter next Friday in St. Louis. Robert Gasser is scheduled to pitch Sunday for Triple-A Nashville and could be called up to fill the void for Peralta on Friday, though manager Pat Murphy also floated the possibility of that game being treated as a bullpen day, per Hogg.

MAY 5 • ROTOWIRE

Joey Ortiz - Sits in fourth straight Ortiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Impact Ortiz finds himself on the bench for the fourth game in a row, a surprising development considering that he's maintaining an excellent .388 on-base percentage and .827 OPS through 80 plate appearances on the season. According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ortiz's benching isn't disciplinary in nature or due to any dissatisfaction of his performance. Instead, manager Pat Murphy expressed a desire to take a longer look at rookie Oliver Dunn, who hadn't gotten to play much over the past few weeks once Ortiz emerged as the superior option at third base. Dunn will start his fourth straight game Sunday, and Murphy said the Brewers are using the run of extended action to evaluate whether it's worthwhile to keep Dunn in a utility role with the big club or to have him play more frequently in the minors.

MAY 5 • ROTOWIRE