MILWAUKEE _ The Milwaukee Brewers' offense is so potent right now, it can overcome even the worst of days by the pitching staff.
Undaunted by being down by six runs in the fifth inning, the Brewers kept coming after New York's pitchers and eventually pulled out a dramatic Mother's Day victory, 11-9, on Manny Pina's three-run homer in the eighth.
Pina's blast to left on a 3-2 pitch from Addison Reed capped a five-run rally by the Brewers in the eighth. They trailed, 7-1, in the fifth but kept swinging away, scoring two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh.
It was the third time on the six-game homestand the Brewers tallied 11 runs. They went 5-1 against Boston and New York to boost their overall record to 21-17. It is the first time they have been four games over .500 since they were 81-77 on Sept. 24, 2014.
The Brewers' offense chugged along despite having No. 3 hitter Ryan Braun on the disabled list and losing cleanup hitter Travis Shaw in the sixth inning with a finger injury.
This is not a particularly good time to be pitching badly in the Brewers' starting rotation but that's what Wily Peralta has been doing. With Opening Day starter Junior Guerra likely 10 days or so away from returning to action, Peralta continued his downward slide, allowing seven hits and seven runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings.
After a strong finish to his up-and-down 2016 season, Peralta appeared to be still moving forward through three starts this year, going 3-0 with a 2.65 earned run average. For whatever reason, it has been mostly bad since.
Over his last five starts, Peralta is 1-3 with an 8.61 ERA, with 34 hits and 22 earned runs allowed in 23 innings. Overall, he is 4-3 with a 6.08 ERA and heading in the wrong direction.
Guerra, who went on the disabled list after straining his right calf three innings into the first game, is scheduled to make a rehab start for Class AA Biloxi on Monday, then another five days later. Presumably, he will be ready to rejoin the Brewers' rotation five days after that.
A popular guessing game among Brewers fans has been: Who will be removed from the rotation when Guerra returns? Matt Garza (2-0, 2.66) has been pitching very well, and Chase Anderson (2-0, 2.97) has been solid for the most part. Jimmy Nelson (1-2, 3.99) had some rough outings in late April but has bounced back this month. Zach Davies (4-2, 5.80) has been plagued by short outings but likely has a long leash after a strong 2016 (11-7, 3.97).
Which brings us to Peralta. After a terrible start to the 2016 season, he was sent to Class AA Colorado Springs for nearly two months and returned much better. But he had a minor-league option then. He does not have one now.
Peralta and reliever Jhan Marinez, who also is struggling, put the Brewers in a 7-1 hole in the fifth but they didn't stop fighting. They knocked starter Jacob deGrom from the game in the seventh and continued to add runs against the Mets bullpen.
