“Like I keep saying, game after game, we’re just keep putting lots of guys on,” said Herrera, who drilled a 2-0 pitch into the left-center gap after the Brewers had walked Wetherholt to get to him. “Today, we kept putting guys on taking professional at bats. (Hitting coach Brant Brown) tells us all the time, ‘There’s a time to hit and time to slug.’ We’ve been doing that and it’s been fun to watch.”

So, when a foe brazenly walks a rookie to load to the bases and to get to the next batter, is that a time to hit or a time to slug?

“If you get in a 2-0 count, yeah, it is (time to slug),” Herrera said through a hearty laugh.

Leahy, who is still working to make the transition from the bullpen to a starting role, pitching brilliantly early in the night and stranded seven Brewers over the first five innings. As has been the case all season, Leahy encountered more sixth-inning struggles – not ones brought on by fatigue, but instead because of the familiarity of facing a lineup three times.

This season, Leaky has faced 10 hitters in sixth innings. Eight of them have recorded hits and five have scored.

“The thing that helps hitters the most is familiarity, and if they’ve seen pitches multiple times through and have seen my curveball three or four times …,” Leahy said before trailing off in a different direction. “If I’ve gotten them out on curveball the previous two at bats, it’s the read of, ‘Can I get them out on another curveball? Or is it time to throw something else? Then, it’s the order of everything? What did I start the at bat with and what the hitter’s approach is? It’s about reading the character of hitters and using that against them.”

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