Effective wildness helping Nelson lead staff

MILWAUKEE — Jimmy Nelson, the best starting pitcher for the Brewers through the first two months of the season, has avoided major trouble on the mound for most of the 2016 campaign. Early in Sunday’s game against the Reds, however, he found himself in a tight spot.

After six of Cincinnati’s first seven batters reached base to put Milwaukee in an early deficit, Nelson rebounded to post yet another sound outing and pick up the win in the Brewers’ 5-4 triumph.

“I don’t think it was his best performance of the year, but he figured out enough certainly to get it going, and that’s what you want to do,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “You’re not going to have your ‘A’ stuff or your ‘A’ delivery every day, but figure out a way to put up zeros and get deep into the game.”

Get deep into the game Nelson did, going 7 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five. It was the third time in his last four starts that Nelson has pitched into the eighth.

He escaped the first inning unscathed thanks to foiled stealing attempts by Reds center …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com