Brewers place Grant Anderson on 15-day injured list and recall Brandon Sproat

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers made an adjustment to their pitching staff by placing Grant Anderson on the 15-day injured list with right biceps inflammation and recalling Brandon Sproat from Triple-A Nashville on Monday.

Anderson threw a season-high 44 pitches and matched a season high by working 2 2/3 innings Sunday in the Brewers’ 12-8 loss at Cincinnati.

“We had to extend him yesterday more than he’s been, and he was feeling it,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Hopefully it’s minimal. There was no structural damage. Nobody thought there were any alarms going off.”

Anderson, a 29-year-old right-hander, is 3-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 52 appearances this season.

Murphy said the MLB-leading Brewers needed a fresh arm in the bullpen. No Milwaukee starting pitcher worked more than four innings over the weekend as the Brewers lost two of three games to the Reds.

“We needed some length,” Murphy said. “We’ve gotten all these four-inning starts and three-inning starts that deplete your bullpen pretty good.”

That represents an opportunity for Sproat, who went 3-7 with a 5.27 ERA with Milwaukee earlier this season while working primarily as a starter.

Sproat started four of five games with Nashville but was working shorter stints, potentially preparing for a possible bullpen assignment in the majors. The 25-year-old right-hander went 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA in Nashville.

“We sent him to Triple-A to kind of indoctrinate him to that type of role and ... take the pressure off him a little bit and get him a little more comfortable,” Murphy said.

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