Brewers remain confident in bullpen, despite Broxton's slump

Jonathan Broxton appeared on his way to his third straight positive outing when things quickly fell apart in the eighth inning Wednesday night.

The veteran reliever retired Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera before J.D. Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes singled and Tyler Collins walked to load the bases. Broxton then lost a seven-pitch battle to Nick Castellanos, who fouled off two 2-2 pitches before sending a bases-clearing triple to right, the decisive blow in Detroit's 5-2 victory over the Brewers.

"You have to bear down right there when you've got two outs and get the job done," Broxton said.

While the Brewers haven't had many late leads to protect, Broxton has struggled in his first full season in Milwaukee.

The three earned runs he was charged with Wednesday caused his ERA to jump to 8.22, while his 1.83 WHIP is seventh among major-league relievers. Broxton has allowed runs in four of his last six outings and multiple runs in three of his last six.

One of those scoreless outings came Monday, when he hit 98 mph with his fastball to escape an eighth-inning jam with a double play and a strikeout to keep the Brewers in front, 3-2.

"He's just in a little slump," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "He'll get out of it and he'll be the guy we're used to seeing. It is just a little downturn that everyone is going to go through. He'll work hard to fix it and be right back to where he needs to be."

Broxton has a similar opinion to the one offered by his manager. According to Fangraphs.com, the right-hander's average fastball velocity is up from 93.4 in 2014 to 94.3 this season.

The 30-year-old also has the highest batting average on balls in play (BABIP) among qualified major-league relievers at .447.

"I've been feeling like that pretty much all year," Broxton said when asked if he's been feeling better of late. "I've just been having some bad luck on some stuff. I have to go out there and bear down and get the guys out that I need to."

Broxton, who is making $9 million in 2015, has been the outlier among the high-leverage relievers in Milwaukee's bullpen. Closer Francisco Rodriguez has allowed just two runs in 15 innings, while Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith both have an ERA under 3.00.

Rodriguez has tossed 10 consecutive scoreless outings since taking the loss against Cincinnati on April 22. He's converted all eight of his save opportunities to pull within just two saves of Troy Percival for ninth on the all-time saves list.

In his first full season back with the Brewers, Jeffress is tied with Pittsburgh's Jared Hughes for the most appearances in baseball at 22. The 27-year-old has struck out seven of the last 10 batters he's faced. He fanned three in 1 1/3 innings Monday, including a key strikeout of Rajai Davis with two in scoring position in the sixth inning of a tie game.

"'Couns' knows we have a great bullpen," Jeffress said. "(Pitching coach Rick Kranitz) believes in each and every one of us. The veterans in the bullpen talk to us each and every day about what we need to do, go over the books and all that stuff. We just go out there and battle."

Overall, Milwaukee's bullpen ERA is 21st in baseball at 4.15. Jeffress, Rodriguez, Smith and Michael Blazek have had success, but most of the middle relievers and Broxton have struggled.

With Jeffress pitching the way he has, Counsell may have to consider making a switch in the eighth inning if Broxton can't get on track.

"We're committed to the situation," Counsell said prior to the series in Detroit. "I really don't like getting tied into 'this is how it's going to happen.' We're going to be flexible. We're going to try and get the best matchups, hitting-wise and pitching-wise.

"There are leverage moments in the games and we have higher-leverage relievers and lower. I'm not using that as a determining factor. It's a leverage situation to me. There's leverage moments in the game and you want your guy in there in those moments."

The Brewers certainly need Broxton to get going, as the free-agent-to-be could be a trade candidate for teams seeking bullpen help.

Although the end result Wednesday was a loss, Counsell continued to see encouraging signs from Broxton.

"I felt his stuff is back where it should be," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "I thought (Wednesday) was a night where I think they earned it in those at-bats. I really do. It is a night where they got him.

"Castellanos fouled off 96, 97 (mph pitches). He had a good at-bat. I think the pitch he hit was 96 or 97. That's good stuff. He just put a good at-bat on him."

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