Milwaukee’s Priester win streak reaches 15 straight

The most consequential trade in MLB this year might turn out to be Milwaukee landing right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester from Boston on April 7.

Priester (11-2) didn't get Thursday's win over the Cubs because he left after 4⅓ innings and 95 pitches. But the Brewers won their 15th straight game in which Priester pitched, 4-1. That includes 12 starts and three extended relief appearances.

“Everybody down the stretch did a really nice job outside of me getting the bases loaded there in the fifth,” he told reporters in the visiting clubhouse. “But it's a team game. Certainly a lot of things to clean up on my end. But when you have (relievers) like that behind you, even if guys are on base, you keep runs off the board, we've got a chance.”

The Cary-Grove High School grad didn't pan out for Pittsburgh, which drafted him No. 18 overall in 2019, and he was toiling at Triple-A Worcester for the Red Sox before the trade. But he gave Milwaukee's rotation a much-needed boost.

Priester pitched twice against the Cubs in Milwaukee earlier this season and tossed 6 innings of relief at Wrigley Field in September 2023 for the Pirates. But this was his first official start in his hometown.

“It's super fun, the crowd's always great,” he said. “I've come to a lot of day games in the stands, but to be on the mound and win one with as many fans as there were today (37,850) is always really fun, and a really cool experience to pitch against a good team, division rival.”

Priester threw the slider, sinker and cutter pretty equally, mixed in a curve, and got swing-and-miss on all four pitches. Cubs hitters found success in laying off breaking pitches, which drove up the pitch count in the fifth inning and led to a season-high 5 walks. Priester left the mound with the bases loaded, but the Cubs scored just 1 run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly.

Yelich expects more:

Brewers star Christian Yelich predicted more Cubs-Brewers baseball in the postseason.

“They're a good team. So are we,” he said after Wednesday's game. “We're going to square off probably more times than just (Thursday). We're going to see probably them again at some point during the postseason, and it will be a good series.”

Yelich included that line as he discussed his team's three straight losses to the Cubs. After Monday's series opener, Milwaukee had a 15-1 record in August.

“Nobody's panicking,” he said. “I know that would be a good narrative and that would be a cool thing to have out there, us being in full panic after losing three games. But there's no panic here. There's no level of concern.

“A couple good baseball games didn't go our way. It's not supposed to be easy. This team's fine. We're very resilient.”

Caissie at the bat:

With Kyle Tucker back in the lineup Thursday, manager Craig Counsell didn't have a concrete plan on how to keep rookie Owen Caissie in the mix.

“We have a good problem in front of us now, and I would apply this to Willi Castro a little bit, too,” Counsell said. “Trying to find some guys at-bats and keep them involved and keep them productive. So it's going to be a challenge.

“I think Owen had a good three days here, an impactful three days. He helped us win some baseball games. That's meaningful. It's still going to be a challenge to find spots for him to get in there. But it's my responsibility to do that.”

Caissie pinch-hit for Dansby Swanson in the eighth inning Thursday but grounded out to first base.