Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers Series Recap - July 18-July 20
Recapping each game in the Phillies vs. Brewers series and a look at series highlights with the Series Six Pack
Philadelphia Phillies (51-42) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (52-42)
Game 1 – Phillies win 4-3 behind a stellar Aaron Nola start – W: Nola (9-6, 4.27), L: Teheran (2-4, 4.01), S: Kimbrel (16)
Kyle Schwarber and the offense started this one with a bang. Wasting no time, Schwarber whacked the first pitch he saw the opposite way over the left field fence for his 26th homerun. The offense went ahead and scored one run each of the next two innings off of a Bohm single that followed a Realmuto walk and Stott double and a Castellanos single that brought in Trea Turner who had hit a triple to the center field wall. Nola was cruising through the first four innings, facing the minimum and showcasing his best stuff, however, he hit a snag in the fifth inning. After getting two quick outs, one of which a terrific play by Schwarber up against the fence, he surrendered a single, double, and another single to the six, seven, and eight hole batters to give up two runs. The Phillies answered back in the bottom of the inning with a clutch two out single by Stott to score Turner again and the lead was stretched to two at 4-2 at the end of the 5th. That was enough offense for Aaron Nola and the bullpen. Other than the 5th and 8th innings he had everything working and was keeping the Brewers hitters off-balance with the cutter, sinker, and knuckle curve all being thrown for strikes. Nola handed the ball to Soto after exiting with runners on the corner and one out in the 8th. Soto was able to get out of the inning with two ground balls but one run scored which was credited to Nola. Kimbrel was able to hold the one run lead and convert his 16th save despite two errors in the inning and the Phillies take game one of the series 4-3.
Game 2 – Phillies fall behind early and lose 5-3 – W: Milner (2-0, 2.31), L: Hoffman (3-2, 2.81), S: Williams (24)
The Phillies dug themselves another hole that they had to climb out of. With Sanchez on the mound, the Brewers got their first base runner of the inning with an error from Sosa at third, that was followed by a single and two doubles and the Brewers quickly went ahead 3-0. It stayed that way until the 4th inning when Nick Castellanos clubbed a homerun, his 14th on the year, making it 3-1. After a shutdown inning by Sanchez, the Phillies tied the game up with a two-run single by Schwarber scoring Bohm who got on from an error at first and Marsh who singled. Jeff Hoffman threw a scoreless 6th but walked the leadoff batter in the 7th who promptly stole second. Strahm came in for the Brewers one and two hole hitters and got Yelich to line out to Sosa but gave up a double to William Contreras pushing the Brewers ahead 4-3. That would end up being the difference maker as the Brewers added one in the ninth inning and Devin Williams closed out the game in the bottom of the ninth despite giving up a couple singles.
Game 3 – Phillies get dismantled by Brewers Ace to fall 4-0. W: Burnes (9-5, 3.49), L: Walker (11-4, 4.11)
This game started out like most other games post All-Star break. Taijuan Walker gave up a three-run homerun to Christian Yelich in the top of the third inning to deliver the Brewers a 3-0 lead. The Phillies offense was almost non-existent against the Brewers ace, Corbin Burnes, who ended up going eight innings and only surrendering two hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. Walker settled in for the most part after that third inning homer but it was enough for him to take the loss and move to 11-4 on the season. Walker was credited with one more run as the Brewers added onto the lead from a two-out single by Contreras in the 7th inning that Andrew Vasquez could not come in and shut down the inherited runner. The Phillies quietly went down in the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning and the Brewers won the game 4-0 to take the series.
Series Six Pack of Notes/Highlights:
1. Aaron Nola shined in game one of the series. He pitched 7.1 innings giving up three runs but just two earned while striking out six and walking none. He had a perfect game entering the fifth where he ran into a bit of trouble but was able to escape with just the two earned runs. He refound his groove for the next two innings and then went out for the eighth before handing the ball off to the bullpen. This is the Aaron Nola the Phillies will look to lean on as the season winds down and they make their anticipated postseason push.
2. Schwarber continues his onslaught of hits and homeruns. He hit his 26th homerun on the first pitch of the game in the series opener making it his fourth game in a row. In game two he went 1-4 but had a clutch two-run single that tied the game up in the 5th inning. He has also been surprising stable in left field, even leaping at the wall to make a terrific catch the prevent any damage to a cruising Nola. The Phillies are 12-0 when Schwarber hits a homerun and is in the leadoff spot.
3. The Phillies continued to fall behind early in games. Game two started with a three run rally in the second inning and in game three a three run homerun in the third inning. Game two they were able to fit back just to ultimately lose but game three spiraled from the get-go and the offense couldn’t recover. Similar to the last series against the Padres, Phillies found themselves down by three in multiple games. It is vital that they come out swinging in the next series to limit the stress on the starters and bullpen.
4. In the bottom of the 6th inning in the second game, Hoby Milner came in to face Bryce Harper. Milner, a former Phillie, has an odd left-handed release point that can be difficult to pick up. Harper proceeded to leave his bat on his shoulder and take six straight pitches to strikeout. It was definitely odd and he clearly had no intention to swing the bat. It led to people speculating if there was something wrong with Harper. Rob Thomson addressed it with the media stating that Harper was simply going up there taking a couple pitches to get used the arm slot and the count ran full. He had thought he would be walked so he kept taking pitches but it was definitely bizarre to see.
5. The Phillies for the series were 3-21 with RISP. That comes out to be a .143 batting average and that will absolutely not cut it. On the season, they are hitting .259 with RISP which is in the middle of the pack and a lot more respectable. Clutch hits have been hard to come by at times during this season but recently they have been getting it done at the plate with the ducks on the pond. The Phillies need to take advantage of those opportunities as they arise to give their pitching staff support and to give this team a chance to win.
6. Darick Hall has not had a season to remember. He injured his thumb at the start of the season and after a lengthy rehab, was sent to AAA to get work in before being called back up. In his rehab stint, he hit .330 with three homeruns and 15 RBI in just 88 at bats. However, in his 53 plate appearances since being called back up, he is slashing .176/.208/.462 with just one homerun and three RBI. It has been a major struggle for the left-handed power hitter. With Bryce Harper expected to make his first base debut in the upcoming series and the trade deadline looming, playing time may be hard to come by for Hall who has not performed up to standard.