The Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball entering play on Thursday, and their current ace, Freddy Peralta, is a big reason why.
Peralta picked up his 13th win of the season against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. That not only set a new career high in wins for him, but it also tied him for the MLB lead in wins alongside Garrett Crochet.
There is plenty of debate on whether pitcher wins are a telling stat, but be that as it may, that stat is only a microcosm of the phenomenal season Peralta is having. After the Brewers traded away former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes last season, Peralta has stepped into the No. 1 spot in the rotation. Last season, he made 32 starts and posted a 3.68 ERA. This season, he was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and has a 3.03 ERA through 24 starts.
Peralta’s career year could not come at a better time for the Dominican Republic. He recently made it known his intention to play for the DR in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“I think I’m gonna be on the team,” Freddy Peralta told Ayako Oikawa of MLB.com. “It doesn’t matter if I’m starting or relieving. That doesn’t matter to me — I just want to represent and do my best to help the team win.”
The Dominican Republic is in a pool with Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Netherlands and Israel. Their first game of the tournament is on March 6. The first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic will take place on March 5 when Chinese Taipei takes on Australia.
Full 2026 World Baseball Classic Schedule
All times local
March 5 Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia – Tokyo Dome 7 p.m. JST – Czechia vs. South Korea – Tokyo Dome
March 6 Noon JST – Australia vs. Czechia – Tokyo Dome Noon CST – Mexico vs. Great Britain – Daikin Park Noon EST – The Netherlands vs. Venezuela – loanDepot Park Noon AST – Cuba vs. Panama – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 7 p.m. JST – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei – Tokyo Dome 7 p.m. CST – United States vs. Brazil – Daikin Park 7 p.m. EST – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic – loanDepot Park 7 p.m. AST – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
March 7 Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia – Tokyo Dome Noon CST – Mexico vs. Great Britain – Daikin Park Noon EST – Nicaragua vs. The Netherlands – loanDepot Park Noon AST – Colombia vs. Canada – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 7 p.m. JST – South Korea vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome 7 p.m. CST – Great Britain vs. United States – Daikin Park 7 p.m. EST – Israel vs. Venezuela – loanDepot Park 7 p.m. AST – Panama vs. Puerto Rico – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
March 8 Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea – Tokyo Dome Noon CST – Great Britain vs. Italy – Daikin Park Noon EST – The Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic – loanDepot Park Noon AST – Colombia vs. Cuba – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 7 p.m. JST – Australia vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome 7 p.m. CST – Brazil vs. Mexico – Daikin Park 7 p.m. EST – Nicaragua vs. Israel – loanDepot Park 7 p.m. AST – Panama vs. Canada – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
March 9 Noon JST – South Korea vs. Australia – Tokyo Dome Noon CST – Brazil vs. Great Britain – Daikin Park Noon EST – Dominican Republic vs. Israel – loanDepot Park Noon AST – Colombia vs. Panama – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 7 p.m. JST – Czechia vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome 7 p.m. CST – Mexico vs. United States – Daikin Park 7 p.m. EST – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua – loanDepot Park 7 p.m. AST – Cuba vs. Puerto Rico – Hiram Bithorn Stadium
March 10 7 p.m. AST – Canada vs. Puerto Rico – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 7 p.m. EST – Israel vs. Nicaragua – loanDepot Park 8 p.m. CST – Italy vs. United States – Daikin Park
March 11 3 p.m. AST – Canada vs. Cuba – Hiram Bithorn Stadium 6 p.m. CST – Italy vs. Mexico – Daikin Park 8 p.m. EST – Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua – loanDepot Park
Quarterfinals March 13 – 6:30 p.m. EST – loanDepot Park March 13 – 8 p.m. EST – Daikin Park March 14 – 3 p.m. EST – Daikin Park March 14 – 9 p.m. EST – loanDepot Park
Semifinals March 15 – 8 p.m. EST – loanDepot Park March 16 – 8 p.m. EST – loanDepot Park
Championship Game March 17 – 8 p.m. EST – loanDepot Park
WBN WBC: https://worldbaseball.com/league/wbc/
Photo: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) works against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
