Brewers Bench Rookie Cooper Pratt for Not Hustling in Loss
Manager Pat Murphy pulled the 22-year-old shortstop after he failed to bunt and didn't run hard on a bloop hit during a 10-inning loss to the Mets.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy benched rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt on Tuesday night after he failed to get down a bunt and didn't run hard out of the batter's box on a bloop single, during a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets.
"I've got to be better," Pratt said. "It's not winning baseball. I didn't help the team win and it won't happen again, that's for sure."
Batting ninth, Pratt was asked to bunt after Garrett Mitchell and Joey Ortiz opened the third inning with singles against Mets starter Zac Thornton. Pratt pulled back his bat on a fastball down the middle before eventually hitting into a fielder's choice that helped the Mets escape the inning.
"We asked him to get a bunt down, pulled back on a strike, and that happens, maybe," Murphy said.
Murphy was more upset in the fifth inning, when Pratt hit a flyball to shallow right field, paused to watch it and then ran at normal speed to first base. The ball dropped fair near the line, but Pratt only briefly accelerated before returning to first. Murphy immediately replaced him with pinch-runner David Hamilton, who later committed the walk-off throwing error at third base in the 10th inning.
"No excuses. I should have been running hard, no matter if it is foul or fair," Pratt said.
Pratt, who turned 22 last week, made his major league debut on June 16, about 2½ months after signing an eight-year, $50.75 million contract with the Brewers.
"I love the kid and I believe in the kid immensely, but he's got to be a player that does those things," Murphy, the two-time defending National League Manager of the Year, said. "It's just not tolerated. By anybody. It sends a message to everybody else, too — you've got to run."
Pratt is batting .259 with two home runs, 18 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 49 games for the Brewers, who own the best record in the majors at 81-51 and are seeking a fourth straight NL Central title.
"He's a great kid — it's not laziness," Murphy said. "You've got to have your head in the game... So hopefully, a good learning experience."
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
