Brewers' Aaron Civale: Inefficient in return

Civale (hamstring) didn't factor into the decision in Thursday's 8-5 win over the Pirates after striking out three batters and allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks in four innings.

Civale turned in an up-and-down performance in his first start for Milwaukee since March 30 after he had been on the 15-day injured list for nearly two months while recovering from a strained left hamstring. The 29-year-old right-hander has now given up four home runs over only seven innings this season, and he also hit a batter Thursday while throwing just 42 of his 73 pitches for strikes. Civale was operating under a restricted workload in his return, but he should be able to push his pitch count up to the 80-to-90 range in his next start, which will likely come early next week against the Red Sox in MIlwaukee.