Freddy Peralta struggled throwing his slider, and ex-teammate Orlando Arcia benefited

Freddy Peralta considers Orlando Arcia a friend.

But he wasn't too pleased in the moment when his ex-Milwaukee Brewers teammate cracked a two-run home run off him in the second inning on Friday night.

That blast left the Brewers trailing for the rest of the game in an eventual 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves at American Family Field.

"In that moment, we're not friends," said Peralta. "I'm just trying to get outs and get the win for the team, and for myself, too. But outside the field we're friends, and it's nice to see him.

"I didn't see him today before the game. But tomorrow I'm probably going to see him and let him know what's going on."

Arcia, who never lived up to the hype that came with his one-time status as Milwaukee's top prospect, has found quite the landing spot in Atlanta.

He won a World Series ring in 2021 after being traded over in the season's opening days and now after Dansby Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs he's become the Braves' starting shortstop.

Arcia even started in his first All-Star Game earlier this month. As Atlanta's No. 8 hitter, Arcia is sporting a .291 average with 10 home runs and 34 runs batted in with an OPS of .791.

"He's a great player. We all know that," Peralta said. "He brings a lot of energy to them, you can tell. We had him here for 3-4 years, and he was the same way.

"Very good player and a very good guy."

Did Peralta text his congratulations to Arcia after his all-star selection?

"I forgot," Peralta said. "He was probably mad with me."

Atlanta has now won nine of 10 games against Central Division opponents this season -- a trend Milwaukee is obviously seeking to reverse with five more games remaining against the Braves over the next nine days.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Peralta's slider wasn't working, which made it tough on him

Peralta's four-seam fastball was humming right along, topping out at a game-high 98.1 mph.

But that's still an eminently hittable pitch to a team like the Braves when Peralta's slider isn't doing what it's supposed to do.

Peralta threw 44 four-seamers and 29 sliders among his 97 pitches in an uneven five-inning performance that was a letdown considering how well he threw his last time out against the Cincinnati Reds.

Arcia and Austin Riley both homered off Peralta, who allowed six hits and a season-high-tying six earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts and ultimately took the loss to fall to 6-8.

"For me, they're the best hitters in the league right now," Peralta said. "I didn't have my slider today, so when I was trying to come back I was using the fastball more."

Arcia's homer helped Atlanta rally from a two-run, first-inning deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the second. Peralta got ahead in the count, 0-2, then threw three straight balls to allow Arcia back into the at-bat.

The final two misses before the homer were sliders.

Riley's two-run shot in the third made it 5-2, and came on a fastball after Peralta fell behind in the count, 2-0, by missing on a pair of sliders.

"Today for some reason, it was a little different," said Peralta. "They were looking for the fastball. They are really good hitters and the moments I was struggling, like the second and the third, they did what they had to do and put me in a hard situation.

"But there were some days where I didn't have my slider before, and I was able to throw my innings. But today, it didn't work. It is what it is, man. Move onto the next one."

Added manager Craig Counsell: "The two home runs hurt him. He got boxed in on both."

Atlanta tacked on another run against Peralta in the fifth.

His ERA sits at 4.72 and his WHIP at 1.28 after 19 starts, one fewer than team leader Corbin Burnes.

Bryse Wilson & Co. picked up from there, and dominated again

Since coming out of the All-Star break, the Brewers bullpen has shined in not allowing a run over the last 24 ⅔ innings.

“They’re pitching great, there’s no question about it,” Counsell said. “(If) you pitch like that, we’re going to win games. Obviously that’s a big number and we’re going to give up some runs down there, but we've got a lot of guys throwing the ball well.”

Over the last eight games, opponents have hit just .101 against Brewers relievers.

Right-hander Bryse Wilson said the success out of the bullpen of late is a carryover of what the unit has done all season. But there’s also been recent additions to the group – J.C. Mejía, Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe – who have also contributed.

“It's (pitching coach Chris Hook) and (bullpen coach) Jim (Henderson) really helping bring it together,” Wilson said. “We're (also) throwing a lot of strikes or attacking guys.

“There’s guys with good stuff and it’s allowing them to understand we believe in them and they can go out there and get these outs.”

Wilson is one of five relievers – Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps and Devin Williams – who remain from the opening-day roster.

The “Core Five,” if you will.

But what has led to that group's success as a whole?

“It works because we all pitch differently,” Wilson said. “When we’re winning games, you’re going to get any order of us at some point. You bring in Hoby, he's left-handed sidearmer. Then you bring in Peguero and Payamps who are high release, hard-sink guys with good breaking balls. Devin obviously is Devin, and I kind of throw everything.

“We're all different in how we pitch, but we also attack hitters and throw strikes. That's the big part, I feel especially, that I've learned coming out of the bullpen – you can't give up free passes.”

Wilson picked up his mates Friday as he threw three scoreless innings while striking out a season-high five batters.

“Bryse has done that all year," Counsell said. "He’s been a guy that helps other guys down in the bullpen by an outing like that. He gave us a chance and a couple innings to put the tying run on base."

Facing a Braves lineup that features five all-stars, Wilson showcased his curveball, a pitch he's been working on improving this season.

“It’s something that I’ve kind of been looking for, that consistent swing and miss pitch,” Wilson said. “Think we found it tonight. Really didn't really want to repeat anything, wanted to keep mixing all my pitches and keep 'em on their toes.”

Friday marked the first time Wilson had pitched against the Braves since he was traded by Atlanta to Pittsburgh in 2021. He was a fourth-round pick of Atlanta in 2016.

“Obviously the anticipation of it, it was going to happen at some point. Knowing how good that lineup is, when I got out there, it was about treating it like any other lineup and pitching how I normally would,” Wilson said.

“It obviously went well for me and I was able to execute. But it was cool.”

The bottom of the order almost pulled it off

Jesse Winker and Victor Caratini struck out against Kirby Yates, who was pitching the ninth with normal closer Raisel Iglesias resting.

Yates was then one strike away from striking out the side before Andruw Monsterio came back in an 0-2 count to walk.

Brice Turang followed with a free pass of his own to bring Blake Perkins to the plate as the potential winning run.

Perkins responded with an impressive 11-pitch at-bat against the veteran Yates that saw him foul off seven straight pitches after getting ahead, 2-1 – including a shot pulled down the right-field line that fell just foul – before taking a called third on a slider on the outside corner.

It was the only slider Yates threw in the at-bat.

"Great at-bats. We gave ourselves a chance," Counsell said. "Perk, heck of an at-bat, missed a ball by 4-5 feet. Those are at-bats that are great to see. Tough at-bats against a good pitcher."

Milwaukee scored twice in the first on an RBI double by William Contreras and RBI single by Jesse Winker, then twice more in the sixth on a two-run homer by Willy Adames.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Freddy Peralta struggled throwing his slider, and it cost him