The Brewers and Phillies find themselves in similar positions heading into their four-game set. While mathematics says they both have a shot at the playoffs, both teams are essentially holding tryouts for 2013. Life without the Prince hasn’t been so kind to the Brew Crew, but it’s been their pitching that has really let the team down. Usually a team will turn to it’s minor league affiliates to feed the major league club, but that may be a problem for Milwaukee. Right now the team is in negotiations with their AA affiliate. They are one of only 8 teams to not have a AA team under contract for next year. This may be standard negotiating procedure, but with the team struggling as it is, it would behoove them to have a place for their young prospects to play!

"Papelbon celebrates the Phillies victory against the Brewers back in July. His contract aside, you have to love the intensity!" Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

When Last We Met: The Brewers are a welcome sight for the Phillies, as they swept them out of town 7-6 in each game. The Phightins were in vintage form, coming back in multiple nights late off of Brewer’s closer Frankie Rodriguez. Most impressive was the Phillies 4-run rally in the opener. It looked like the last minute spark the team needed to get back in the playoff hunt, until then they went to Atlanta…

Series Predictions: 1) Bernie the Brewer takes more trips down his slide (home run celebration) than the Phillies like, adding more misery to an already beleaguered bullpen.

2) Cliff Lee wins a game! The strangest stat on this team has to be Lee’s 2 wins on the year to date.

3) Hamel’s continues his consecutive inning scoreless streak, but he is still far from Orel Hersheiser’s record. Can we get this guy a Cy-Young already?

Fansided Perspective: Reviewing the Brew editor Colin Bennett shared a virtual ale and discussed why the Phillies and Brewers are so bad.

The way they’ve played this series has been utterly ridiculous, from the many mistakes, to the many clutch hits, to the many comeback, 7-6 wins.  Today, though, seemed to unfold with refreshing, by-the-book victory.  Until the end, when it didn’t anymore.

No, this picture is from TODAY'S game. Shut up. Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

Chase Utley wouldn’t stop doubling today, and knocked in three runs because of it.  Erik Kratz also had a 3-for-5 day with an RBI of his own.  In general, the Phillies were getting on base, and allowing those who bothered to get on base to score.  With a 5-1 lead going into the sixth, Vance Worley appeared to be in control and wouldn’t even have the “Well they didn’t score for me!” excuse that Cliff had yesterday.

And there it was.  A good old-fashioned straightforward victory, in which we win the game by scoring more runs than the other team and then the game ending.  But the Brewers, gluttons for punishment, crawled back to tie it, thanks to home runs from Rickie Weeks and Ryan Braun and an RBI double from Carlos Gomez.  Also, Ty Wigginton and the bullpen had to have their say, because this is America.

The game remained untied, and free baseball was had by all.  Carlos Gomez popped up like an idiot to start the tenth.  Relieved applause began as Ty Wigginton settled under it and then immediately was replaced by aggressive boos two seconds later when he dropped it for some reason.  Gomez reached second, clapping like the deranged kindergartener everyone stays away from.

Gomez was eventually sac-flied in by Aramis Ramirez, giving Michael Schwimer an undeserved notch upwards in the old ERA.  Erik Kratz continued his banner day by icing the intentionally walked Ryan Braun as he tried to steal second about as effectively as a bull elephant.

So, the bottom of the tenth rolls around, and who should lead off but today’s scapegoat Ty Wigginton.  With the way this series has gone, you’d think the script would have had Ty cranking a quick solo shot to end things and redeem himself.  Instead he flew out to right pretty immediately and returned to the dugout amidst a fresh sea of boos.

K-Rod, who had entered the game to “close” things out, then walked John Mayberry and gave up a double to who else but Phillies third string catcher and offensive dynamo Erik Freaking Kratz.  Professional Hero Carlos Ruiz then stepped in with two runners in scoring position and tied the game with a sac fly, a moment overshadowed on the highlight reel because minutes later, J-Roll singled pinch runner Mike Fontenot in from second to close the book on a series that was played by a Phillies team from three years ago.

When It All Went Right

Chooch, tying the game by getting the ball out of the infield at a point when everybody was thinking “Just get it out of the infield.”  They never listen when we think that.

Most Attractive Play

This is going to sound stupid, but after Wigginton’s childlike fumbling of a pop-up, Erik Kratz almost made this ridiculous diving catch of a foul pop that got maybe three feet off the ground.  It was attractive mostly because he made a great attempt and almost succeeded, and in the shadow of contrast cast by Wigginton having an easy play and blowing it, Kratz got some polite applause from a recently-infuriated Phillies crowd.

Hero

Erik Kratz, for being fill-in Chooch and getting lots of hits and doubling in the 10th in a clutch manner that Brian Schneider probably wouldn’t have grasped.

Villain

Ty Wigginton,  although his ineptitude allowed for the victory to be registered as a “comeback,” so perhaps we should be praising his lack of motor skills?

No.

They have no wins to show for it.

Cliff was roughed up by a homer barrage that lasted from the sixth to the eighth inning and featured bombs from basically everybody in the Milwaukee lineup (Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Gomez, Zach Greinke).  He walked a tight rope in the first, presumably saved by Hunter Pence’s pinpoint precision assist that took down Norichika Aoki at the plate, only to give up an RBI single and allow a run.  From there on out, things looked positively okay.  Until, of course, all of those home runs the other team hit.

So, with a 6-1 deficit as they headed into the bottom of the eighth inning, pretty much only because Zach Greinke said they could, things didn’t look great for the Phillies.  Even a team with two late inning comebacks in the past two games couldn’t come through after getting shut down all evening.

Fortunately, the Brewers bullpen is slightly worse even than our own.  Speaking of which, Michael Schwimer had another solid outing, throwing an inning and allowing nothing but a strikeout.  Greinke was lifted after 87 pitches in the seventh, because I guess Ron Roenicke thought the game was over.

“Manny Parra has been loosening in the bullpen,” Tom McCarthy said.

It was the last time the Brewers would be winning all night.

Parra entered the game with Ty Wigginton on second–not exactly the most threatening of scenarios.  Pinch/Homers-only hitter Erik Kratz entered the game and ka-bashed his third hit/home run of the season, pulling the Phils within three.  Parra managed to get J-Roll to line out to left, and celebrated the only out he would record by walking Shane Victorino and Chase Utley.  As a sick joke, the runners pulled a double steal, at which point the pitching coach came out to tell Parra he’d better not fucking walk Ryan Howard, and Parra then walked the hell out of Ryan Howard.

The bases were loaded for Chooch, but sadly, Manny Parra left the game to seek out new baseball opportunities in the clubhouse.  New pitcher Kameron Loe didn’t help matters by giving up the bases clearing double that tied the game.

ICE CREEEEEEEEEAAAAMM Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

And finally, with speedster Chooch on second, Hunter Pence blooped the bloopiest blooper in the world just out of reach of Rickie Weeks’ glove, and the game was all but over, apparently.

Except for this part, but let's not talk about this part. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

The fateful eighth saw the Phils drop six runs on the Brewers’ bullpen, four of which came with two outs.

When It All Went Right

Man you can’t pitch to a Chooch when it’s a clutch, bases loaded, late inning moment.  What even in the hell are you thinking.

Most Attractive Play

In the top of the fifth, Cliff kept trying to communicate with Ty Wigginton at third with his mind, but unfortunately Ty’s skull is so protectively dense it prevented Cliff’s brain vibes from getting through.  Finally, the two connected, and the result was this play.

Hero

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH

Villain

More like Zach Cranky right guys. Hahahahaha seriously though what’s happening in the game

— Justin Klugh (@TBOHblog) July 25, 2012