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Pat Murphy before a game against the Athletics at American Family Field.

When the Chicago Cubs were going through their 10-game losing streak, one team that took advantage was the Milwaukee Brewers. They were able to put some separation between themselves and the Cubs in the National League Central Division standings.

The division is the only division in MLB where all five teams are above .500 entering play on Sunday. As for the Brewers, they are playing the rubber game of their three-game set against the Houston Astros in Texas. After taking the series opener on Friday night, Milwaukee dropped the second game on Saturday, 9-2.

After the loss, manager Pat Murphy didn’t beat around the bush about his starter that struggled in the game, Brandon Sproat.

Milwaukee Brewers Manager Pat Murphy Doesn’t Beat Around the Bush About Brandon Sproat’s Performance

The Brewers will send ace Jacob Misiorowski to the mound on Sunday. However, instead of potentially going for a sweep, they are going for a series win after Sproat struggled on Saturday. It’s safe to say that the right-hander is going to be pitching for his spot in the rotation when it comes around again.

“We’re not going to tolerate too many duds like this, that’s for sure,” said Murphy. “If he’s not going to step up — we’re trying to win. We’re not rebuilding.

“He’s done some really, really good stuff, so it’s not like he’s not going to get another chance. It’s just that he took a step back. I thought he took a step back today.”

May has been a struggle for the former University of Florida standout. Against Houston, he allowed six hits, five earned runs, struck out four, and allowed a home run in just 4.1 innings. After the fifth inning ended, Milwaukee was in a 6-2 hole, which they couldn’t recover from.

This month, Sproat is 1-2 with a 5.64 ERA. In 22.1 innings, he allowed 20 hits and 14 earned runs, and three home runs. He does have 27 strikeouts, but has issued 12 walks. In his last four starts, he’s allowed at least three earned runs in each start against the San Diego Padres, Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Astros.

Brandon Sproat Needs To Rebound in Next Brewers Start

As Murphy said, Sproat will get another shot. However, he was a key piece of the return that they got from the New York Mets as part of the Freddy Peralta deal over the winter. Having him fix his troubles will go a long way toward cementing his spot in the rotation going forward. Sproat knows that he needs to turn things around.

“Really, the only positive today was no walks. That’s a positive,” Sproat said. “Right now it’s tough. I’ve got to be better. (Throw) Strikes early and often. It sucks right now, to be honest with you. If it was my choice, I’d go nine (innings) every time. But that’s not reality. Let’s just start with getting through five right now.”

Sproat will likely get another chance at the end of the week, but he knows what he needs to do to add some length to his starts. Murphy didn’t need to send a message, but he did. Now it’s up to Sproat to respond to it on the mound.