Brewer handles it all to come up Aces

For a while Monday evening, Charles Brewer was doing it all himself. And while he needed an assist from his bullpen to finally finish the job, it didn't tarnish the performance he turned in for Triple-A Reno.

Brewer (5-9) scattered three hits over eight innings on the mound and added some offense with a three-run double and a single as the Aces blanked the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes, 6-0.

"I knew I was 2-for-2 at one point in the game, but you don't focus on the fact you have more hits than their team," Brewer said. "But if that's the situation, it means I'm doing something right."

The 26-year-old hit one batter, did not allow a walk and threw 70 of 106 pitches for strikes in lowering his ERA to 5.92.

Clint Robinson doubled to right field off Brewer to lead off the second inning for the Isotopes, but he was stranded at third base. Mike Baxter singled to left with two outs in the fifth and Alex Guerrero led off the eighth with a single back up the middle, but the 6-foot-3 UCLA product worked out of both situations.

"I just really felt confident and comfortable on the mound," Brewer said. "I was facing a really good hitting team. They have one of the best hitters in the league in Joc Pederson, so going in, I knew I had to bear down because they can swing the bat.

"But I have to give the most credit to my catcher Bobby Wilson. He's a big league catcher, no doubt about it. I didn't shake him off once and that says a lot about the way he called the game. There's a lot of trust there in that relationship."

But while Brewer was handcuffing the Isotopes at the dish, he was having no such troubles with the bat.

The Arizona native singled to right on the third pitch he saw from Isotopes starter Barry Enright in the third and he ripped a bases-clearing double to right in the fifth.

Brewer collected only two hits in both 2011 and 2013 and three in 2012. He was 1-for-8 with a double and three walks in eight at-bats this year entering Monday. His three RBIs doubled his entire career total.

"Hitting's fun," he said. "Most of the time you're laying down bunts and sacrificing, but if you get a hit it's a bonus. Helping yourself in your own starts is always fun.

"The previous at-bat I threw [Enright] a curveball and got him out on a curveball. Especially with runners in scoring position [in the fifth] I knew I would see some off-speed pitches with two strikes. I fouled some breaking pitches off, and at 1-2, I thought he would throw me a fastball so I was sitting fastball and I put my best swing on it."

Brewer started the season with Reno, but he was sent down to Double-A Mobile after going 3-5 and posting a 7.28 ERA over his first nine Pacific Coast League starts of the season. On May 18, he was tagged for 10 runs and didn't make it out of the fifth inning against Salt Lake.

His best performance for the BayBears came June 9 when he struck out 13 Stars over six one-hit innings in an 8-0 win. He went on to surrender seven runs over his next three starts before returning to Reno at the end of June. He's had his highs (six shutout innings in Sacramento on July 13) and his lows (11 runs over his past 11 innings entering Monday), but is pleased with his progress.

"It was a tough thing for the ego," Brewer said about getting sent to Mobile. "It was the first time in my career that I had ever really backtracked. But I really trusted Minor League pitching coordinator Dan Carlson and farm director Mike Bell. ... They knew the move would be best for me. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward."

Selected by the D-backs in the 12th round of the 2009 Draft, Brewer made four relief appearances for Arizona last year, striking out five batters over six innings. One new weapon could help him realize his goal of getting back to the Majors.

"I've started throwing right-on-right changeups which is something I've never done before in my career," he said. "It looks like a fastball, but it's 8 or 10 mph slower and that has helped me out a lot. It helps get hitters off my fastball. Instead of just being able to use the cutter, fastball and changeup to right-handed hittters, I've now got a fourth pitch in the back of their mind."

Enright (0-1) allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out one batter over 4 2/3 frames.