Blake Perkins continues his stellar defensive season with another home run

Blake Perkins was once again in the highlights on Tuesday night.

But his fourth home run of the season didn’t yield a win, adding some color to the moment for the Milwaukee Brewers center fielder.

“It was great what happened. But situationally I think it’s lower because we still lost,” he said after a disappointing 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants that snapped a five-game winning streak at American Family Field.

“While it was cool, it’s probably going to be low on my list. I’d probably pick the Cubs game over this one.”

Perkins stole a home run from Christopher Morel on May 29 at American Family Field, one of several big plays he made in a 10-6 victory. His first robbery of the season, off Lars Nootbaar, helped the Brewers to a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on April 21.

SCORECARD: Giants 5, Brewers 4

About a month ago, Perkins took a potential home run off Jarred Kelenic during a loss to the Atlanta Braves in Milwaukee.

On Tuesday night, the Brewers and Giants were tied at 2-2 when Thairo Estrada sent a drive to left-center from Tobias Myers. The ball had enough launch angle that Perkins was able to track it to the wall, time his jump perfectly, and then bring it down in his glove for the out.

“It was probably the best catch I’ve ever seen with my two eyes,” Myers said. “That was impressive.”

As impressive as it was, the officials deliberated briefly afterwards and then asked the umpires to make sure the ball did not hit the corner of a wall that extended just beyond the outfield wall.

After a brief review, it was indeed ruled a catch. But the high lasted only a few more pitches, as Grant McCray followed with a home run all the way to right that had no chance of being caught.

“This is my park, you know?” Perkins said. “I get to play here for six months and it’s just kind of a comfort because I know where I’m at and I’m confident. It’s a win-win for me; if I miss, it’s still a home run. I just try to do my best to stay aggressive and work for my guys on the mound.”

While he may have been the team’s most frequent strikeout, Perkins later indicated that he wasn’t the only Milwaukee outfielder to make a big splash at the wall.

There was perhaps no bigger victory this season than Sal Frelick’s game-tying home run to seal a 6-3 victory for the Angels on June 19 in Los Angeles.

Garrett Mitchell also hit a home run in a loss in St. Louis last week.

Perkins entered Tuesday ranked 29th in the Major League with eight outs above average. He also had seven defensive runs saved.

On a team with players who have a ton of home runs, it’s Jackson Chourio who can now take home the honor of the longest home run of the season.

With the Brewers trailing 1-0 in the third inning, the rookie outfielder followed a single by Brice Turang to a huge two-run home run off Logan Webb, which flew 450 feet.

It was better than the 440-foot home run William Contreras hit in Pittsburgh on April 25, and the longest home run by a Milwaukee player since Sept. 15, 2023, when Contreras hit a three-run homer against Washington.

Chourio’s previous home run, the first hit of his career, was 441 feet (135 m) in an 8-7 win over Minnesota on July 21.

“He’s got lightning-fast hands,” manager Pat Murphy said of Chourio, who has a .272 batting average with 16 home runs, 59 RBI and an OPS of .762 and is making a last-minute bid for the National League Rookie of the Year award.

In his last 67 games, the 20-year-old has hit .315 with 15 doubles, 11 homers, 43 RBI and 42 runs scored.

Chourio got into another big situation, with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, but he struck out to center. He also struck out on both sides that at bat, reaching on an error in his first at bat.

“He was facing pitchers he’s never faced before and he took a beating tonight after (the home run),” Murphy said.

William Contreras set the tone

Milwaukee knocked out the tough Webb after just five innings, with a great turn at bat by Contreras after three batters in the first inning undoubtedly playing a big part.

The Brewers catcher allowed the right-handed pitcher to throw a total of 15 pitches, fouling 11 of them, before settling the game with a single.

It was the most pitches a Brewers player saw in a single at-bat since May 8, 2018. Manny Piña also saw 15 pitches and hit 11 error-free in an at-bat against Cleveland’s Zach McAllister before being called out on strikes.

“Remember, against (Justin) Verlander in Houston (on May 18), it was something like that. One of the best ABs I’ve ever seen, and it ended with a home run,” Murphy said, referring to a three-run shot hit by Contreras in the fifth inning of an eventual 4-2 victory.

“This one ended with a walk, but that’s just the kind of discipline this guy has. Pretty impressive.”

In total, the Brewers faced 198 pitches from the Giants and allowed seven hits.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Blake Perkins Robs His Fourth Home Run of the Season