BrewersRaptor Brewers Recap: Phalling Phlat in Philly

Let’s be honest, having to write about the Brewers and Phillies series isn’t very fun.

It was probably the most exhausting series of the season. That is the silver lining, though. The fact that the first sweep against the Brewers didn’t happen until June is a good thing. It also doesn’t hurt that the Phillies are one of the best National League teams. Two current NL favorites going head-to-head and competing each game is a solid baseball experience. It’s just that the Brewers couldn’t pull any of them out for a win this week.

Issues In Philadelphia
The immediate reaction is that the Brewers need offensive help. Let’s pump the brakes a bit on that, though. William Contreras showed he’s actually a mortal this past week, but is still the best catcher in baseball and should be an All-Star starter this year. Voting opened by the way, so go do that now!

Besides Contreras, Christian Yelich had a down series, along with Willy Adames. A lot of the young players just had a hard time playing in Philly. It’s pretty well-known that most visiting teams don’t sleep well when they play the Phillies. Call it an excuse all you want, but multiple factors go into baseball and performance. Mental status has a lot to do with it. Don’t believe me? Look at Yelich in 2021-2022 compared to 2023-2024.

Did you know that Philadelphia is now 27-9 when playing in Philly? Well, now you do. They have basically been unstoppable at home this season. The Brewers had momentum, but ran into the buzzsaw of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola as well. The team had their chances. Tuesday’s game went into extras, and Milwaukee had about 12 chances to win that game. Just some bad hitting, random bullpen choices from Pat Murphy and (for some reason) Brice Turang not bunting. These are the growing pains of baseball.

But let’s relax a bit. There are literally 100 games left to play. The Brewers are off to a great start and still have a five-game lead in the NL Central. Moreover, help is on the way. Garrett Mitchell could be back by the 17^th. Devin Williams should return later this summer. And extra help? Well, it better be on the way.

The Brewers Need Starting Pitching
I want to first say that the Brewers’ pitching staff did a hell of a job against the Phillies. It truly was the offense that bears most of the blame. You had Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Aaron Ashby go against the best offense in the league and did really well.

Philadelphia is first in runs, third in OPS, second in home runs, first in RBIs and basically top-five in every other statistical category. The Brewers are right there with them in most of those categories. Second in runs, second in OPS, fourth in home runs and second in RBIs. It just shows how bad of a series the Brewers had hitting. And the fact that this Brewers pitching group only gave up seven total runs is great.

The elephant in the room, though, is that they need starting pitching badly. Aaron Ashby’s return was fantastic. I was so happy to see him do well. He definitely needed time to get over his shoulder injury and gain some movement back. But to go five innings, two hits, two runs and three strikeouts was exactly what the team needed.

Losing Robert Gasser is another big hit. He will be on the 15-day injured list starting Jun. 2. That now means the Brewers have lost Wade Miley, DL Hall, Jakob Junis, Joe Ross and now Gasser. Hall could be out for quite a while, and his status is still a mystery.

Junis and Ross should be returning soon, per Todd Rosiak below:

The rotation needs more, though. Freddy Peralta is still their ace, but he needs a few more shutdown starts or there is some concern there. Rea has been great. Wilson has been good, but is it sustainable? Then you will have Ashby, Junis and Ross. This team needs to upgrade.

I am a huge Matt Arnold fan, but he needs to pick up that phone. Sign a few veterans to see how they would do. Find out why Zack Greinke won’t sign with anyone yet. Make that trade and send a few lower-level prospects for a starting pitcher or two. I know Arnold was at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game this week, so he could be starting to take those steps. I’m not sure what he's waiting for, unless it be that would-be trade partners just aren't ready to move yet. He can’t let this team get close to .500 before suddenly realizing they have to do something. This Brewers team is good, and a few more pieces can make them great.

There is a lot of season left. We can officially be worried if the offense doesn’t show up again against the Tigers. But for now, stay the course. They know they need to be better, and remember that help is on the way. (Looking at you, Arnold.)

Being Welcomed By White Sox Fans
I also wanted to take a moment and talk about a fun little moment I had over the weekend. The Chicago White Sox came to town, and a giant tailgate was organized by White Sox fans and their Twitter community.

I knew I wasn’t going to miss that. They are good people, and basically the opposite of the Cubs fans we tend to get at games in Milwaukee. After finding some tickets, I went with one of my podcast hosts, Paul, from “Another Brewers Podcast”. (Cheap plug!) I was a little worried what would happen and if I would be welcomed. Thankfully, I was completely wrong to be.

After arriving to the parking lot, it immediately started raining hard. I am an adult now, so thankfully, I had packed a cheap poncho and extra clothes in my clear Brewers carry-in bag, along with water. College Me (who went to Brewers tailgates far, far less willing to trade looking cool for feeling good) is laughing so hard right now. As soon as I got there, I saw someone I knew and they immediately came and said hi and gave me a big hug. Janice introduced me to everyone, and I had some great conversations even before Paul came.

They had about 20 coolers of drinks, with tents everywhere set up. They had free burgers, brats, hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches. Free snacks and desserts. And of course, Malört with cicadas in it. You heard that right.

I was blown away by how awesome everyone was, especially to someone wearing a bright blue Willy Adames City Connect jersey. As a Brewers fan, I see a lot of people talking about the Brewers front office and ownership and how bad it is. That doesn't hold a candle to the state of the current White Sox and their fans. The team is in a rough spot, could break the record for longest losing streak in their franchise's history, and might not win 50 games this year. At least we can say the Brewers are set up for success for the next half-decade. Sox fans enjoy no such succor.

It was a great time, the Brewers won, and I accidentally stole a koozie from the self-checkout. I promise I will make it up to y’all*

*This is a joke and I by no means accidentally put the koozie under my arm and paid and walked away without realizing it please don’t arrest me

Be good people, and Go Brewers!