Randy Wolf came in as a pinch hitter, Alcides Escobar used his skills in left field and George Kottaras tried out right field. That’s not even the strangest substitution in the Milwaukee Brewers lineup Tuesday night.
With Carlos Gomez and Jim Edmonds sharing duties in centerfield and Corey Hart’s hot streak, Joe Inglett has waited patiently to see playing time in the outfield this season. He had no idea he would also see some time on the mound.
“Actually, he was instructed by both myself and Rick Peterson,” said Macha. “I keep telling people you’ve got to change speeds. That should be an indication.”
By: Melissa S. Wollering
Not only has Inglett started in right field the last four games, he also pitched the ninth inning last night—a first for him in the majors. It was the Brewers’ first position player to throw “heat” since Trent Durrington on April 17, 2004 against the Houston Astros. Inglett just tossed them straight, in the low-50’s in terms of miles per hour.
“People should look at that and say instead of trying to throw this 95, throw it 51 and get him out,” said Macha.
Yovani Gallardo wasn’t too impressed with his own performance Tuesday, but applauded Inglett’s.
“1-2-3, I mean that’s pretty much all I can say,” says Gallardo. “I was pretty impressed. Go in there and get three outs on seven pitches. He made it seem easy.”
Inglett didn’t care to talk about his cameo pitching appearance Tuesday, nor could he be found in the locker room Wednesday, but Ken Macha dissected his philosophy behind the move.
“Looking back, Loe needed another day, and I wasn’t going to use Axford,” said Macha. “[I] used Capuano and thought it was ill-advised to use Villa[nueva]. But when your starter doesn’t get three innings in that happens.”
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy was just happy it didn’t “happen” to him.
“Probably not,” said Lucroy. “I’ve got a good knuckleball though, I could probably throw that in there. No, they wouldn’t want me to pitch.”
