MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥 Milwaukee Brewers catcher Wiliam Contreras is learning how to keep hitting the ball hard while dealing with a fractured left middle finger.
Contreras has been playing through this injury for much of the season, which has impacted the hitting production of one of the game鈥檚 top catchers. But he鈥檚 turned a corner lately.
The two-time All-Star went 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles and hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers鈥 over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. He has gone 9 for 16 at the plate over his last five games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been the William Contreras who finished in the top five of the MVP voting last year,鈥 Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
Contreras ranked fifth in the balloting after leading Milwaukee to a second straight NL Central title last year. Contreras understands how much he means to this team, which helps explain why he has continued to play just about every day even while facing this injury.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked too hard to miss a day,鈥 Contreras said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to take two or three months off.鈥
Teammates appreciate Contreras’ ability to play through pain. Contreras has missed just three of Milwaukee鈥檚 first 48 games this season after playing 155 games last year. Even when he isn鈥檛 catching, Contreras typically remains in the lineup as a designated hitter.
鈥淚t really shows his passion to one, play the game, and also about how important he thinks winning is and how badly he wants to win and be a part of it,鈥 pitcher Quinn Priester said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really easy to play with and trust a guy like that.鈥
The Brewers reconfigured Contreras鈥 to help him avoid feeling so much pain with every foul tip he gets while working behind the plate. Contreras has continued doing an outstanding job behind the plate, as ranks him among the NL鈥檚 best catchers at throwing out potential base stealers.
His injury had a bigger effect on his hitting.
Contreras homered April 13 in a at Arizona but didn鈥檛 get another extra-base hit until May 11, when he went deep again in a at Tampa Bay. That represented quite a drop for someone who had won the Silver Slugger as the NL鈥檚 top hitting catcher each of the last two seasons.
He has looked more like his usual self at the plate the last week.
Contreras鈥 surge started Wednesday, when he went 3 of 4 with a double and scored four runs in a at Cleveland. That began a five-game stretch in which his batting average has improved from .224 to .258, his on-base percentage has soared from .333 to .370 and his slugging percentage has improved from .322 to .371.
While metrics show Contreras hasn鈥檛 hit the ball as hard this year as in previous seasons, he鈥檚 clearly making progress in that regard. All four of his hits Monday had an exit velocity exceeding 100 mph.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to hit a ball hard with that finger because there鈥檚 pain sometimes,” Contreras said. “But I don鈥檛 have to think too much about my finger because I鈥檓 going to keep playing the rest of the season.鈥
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