CONFIRMED: Brewers confirm crucial high nine strikeouts return
MILWAUKEE — After spending nearly four months on the injured list, Milwaukee’s DL Hall made a promising return to the majors, showing potential to aid the NL Central-leading Brewers in their playoff push.
In his first MLB appearance since April 20, Hall set a career high with nine strikeouts over 4⅔ innings during the Brewers’ 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Hall, who was part of the trade that sent 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, expressed optimism about his performance.
“Overall, I thought it was a good step in the right direction,” Hall said.
The Brewers acquired Hall, along with Joey Ortiz and a 2024 competitive balance pick, in the Burnes trade. While Ortiz has been Milwaukee’s regular third baseman this season with a .758 OPS, Hall has spent much of his debut season with the Brewers sidelined by injuries.
Hall, who turns 26 on Sept. 19, had gone 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in four appearances before injuring his left knee while fielding a bunt on April 20. He was placed on the injured list the next day.
His recovery was delayed by several setbacks.
In May, Hall aggravated his knee injury during a rehab appearance, and last month, a line drive hit his left forearm while he was pitching for Triple-A Nashville.
“I’m just super grateful to be back,” Hall said. “It felt like it might not happen this year after everything that went wrong during rehab. The thought of getting back to that feeling I had today kept me going. I’m just blessed to be here.”
Despite giving up three runs and five hits with three walks on Sunday, Hall’s performance was better than the numbers suggest.
Two of the runs came on a soft liner from Santiago Espinal that fell into shallow center with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, while the other was a solo homer by Tyler Stephenson in the fifth.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “It was really encouraging—the best I’ve seen him throw all year. He deserved better luck.”
Hall noted that he feels stronger now than he did before his April injury.
“I’d say there’s a pretty big difference in how I feel on the mound,” Hall said. “It impacts all my pitches, not just the velocity on my fastball, but also how everything else plays when my arm speed and body movement are where they should be.”
This was only Hall’s sixth career start, but he demonstrated last year that he can be effective in the postseason. He also has the versatility to both start and relieve.
Last season with Baltimore, Hall went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 19⅓ innings in 18 relief appearances. He also struck out six batters over 3⅓ scoreless innings of relief in the Orioles’ AL Division Series loss to Texas.
Murphy also mentioned that Hall still has minor league options, which could be valuable as the Brewers manage their pitching staff when relievers Bryan Hudson and Trevor Megill return from the injured list. Hudson, who last pitched for Milwaukee on July 23, is nearing a return from a left oblique injury.
Additionally, the Brewers placed left-hander Hoby Milner on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement and transferred right-hander Enoli Paredes to the 60-day IL. Milner’s move is retroactive to Friday.