Brewers RHP Dave Bush sent for another medical exam after poor rehab outing

RHP Bush sent for another medical exam

CINCINNATI — The Milwaukee Brewers probably aren’t going to get starter Dave Bush back next week as hoped.

The Brewers decided to send the right-hander for another medical exam on Thursday, a day after he had a poor showing in a minor league rehab start.

Bush has been on the disabled list since June 23 with a small tear in his right triceps, which made his arm feel tired. He made his second medical rehab start on Wednesday for Double-A Huntsville and gave up six hits and five runs in only three innings, struggling to throw strikes.

“He felt some fatigue yesterday,” general manager Doug Melvin said, before the start of a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. “The reason he went on the DL was fatigue in his arm. We wanted to make sure we get him looked at.”

Bush was returning to Milwaukee, where he’s expected to see a doctor on Friday. The Brewers were hoping to have him back in the rotation next week, but Melvin said that’s unlikely now.

Right-hander Mike Burns, who was called up from Triple-A when Bush went on the disabled list, could keep his spot in the rotation. Burns is 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance.

Bush’s continued problems are a significant setback to the Brewers, whose rotation ranks second-worst in the National League. Brewers starters have given up 85 homers — second only to Philadelphia for most in the league — and have a combined 5.03 ERA.

Only one Brewers starter has an ERA under 4.50 — right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who is at 3.22. The Brewers also were starting Braden Looper (7-4, 4.94 ERA), Jeff Suppan (5-6, 4.70) and Manny Parra (3-8, 6.78) during the series in Cincinnati.

Bush was hit on the arm by a line drive on June 4, but kept pitching. He began to feel weakness in the arm and lost his effectiveness, prompting him to go on the disabled list with a 3-4 record and 5.67 ERA.

The 29-year-old pitcher was second on the staff with 16 quality starts last season, when he went 9-10 with a 4.18 ERA. He went 7-3 with a 3.23 ERA in his last 18 appearances, helping Milwaukee reach the playoffs. He got the Brewers’ only win in their NL division series against Philadelphia, a 4-1 victory in the third game.