Bullpen Surrenders Late Runs as Phillies fall 6-3
It’s never a good sign when the leadoff batter for the opposing team hits a homerun to open up the scoring. Jonathan Villar, a former Phillies prospect who seems to have found his home in Milwaukee, hit the first of three hits over the wall in right field as he helped the Brewers (26-30) jump out to an early lead. The Phillies (27-29) scored three unanswered runs to take a 3-1 lead, but Phillies pitching allowed the Brew Crew to score five unanswered runs and eventually take this one by a score of 6-3.
The Phillies offense did manage to put three runs up on the board, but like many of the games of late, those three runs came early in the game and were the only runs the team would be able to score. All of the offense today was provided by two players, first basemen Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez. All three of the Phillies runs came in the 2nd inning of Brewers starter Junior Guerra and via the long ball. Joseph tied the game up with a solo homerun to straightaway center field, and three batters later, Hernandez stepped up to the plate and delivered a two-run homerun to right center field to give the Phils the 3-1 advantage. Hernandez was the Phils star hitter today, going 3-4 with two RBIs. Villar owned Phillies pitching again today, going 3-5 with 2 RBIs, including his leadoff homerun.
Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, but left the game while it was tied and earned a no-decision in today’s contest to remain at 4-3. Brewers starter Guerra also did not earn a decision in today’s contest, pitching six innings and allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits. The Phillies bullpen struggled in today’s game, allowing three earned runs on three hits. Hector Neris earned the loss in today’s game, allowing a home run to Domingo Santana in the top of the eighth inning that broke the 3-3 tie. Neris has now dropped to 1-3 on the season. Andrew Bailey also allowed two runs in the top of the ninth and gave the Brewers and closer Jeremy Jeffress plenty of insurance. Will Harris earned the win in today’s ball game, while Brewers closer Jeffress notched his 15th save of the season.
The Phillies and Brewers will conclude their 4 game series tomorrow at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will look for a series split tomorrow at 1:35 p.m. and will turn to Aaron Nola (4-4, 2.88 ERA) to halt the Brewers offense. The Brewers hope starter Willy Peralta (3-6, 6.51 ERA) can keep the Phillies bats silent and earn a series victory. Tomorrow’s game may be washed out due to rain, but if the Phillies and Brewers do get tomorrow’s game in, Nola and the Phillies will need to score early and often to keep the Brewers on their heels in order to split this four game series.
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Categorized:Phillies