Brewers @ Phillies Series Recap: Winnin' in the City of Brotherly Love

Series Recap Brewers/Phillies  
The Brewers came into the weekend series at Philadelphia to keep the momentum going, having won four games in a row after sweeping the Pirates and still trying to get the offense jump-started. Coming into the series, the Crew is still averaging just 3.53 runs per game and slashing just .205/.289/.338 as a team. Despite the anemic offense, the Brewers arrive at 8-5 and look to win in Philly, where they have struggled recently.

Game 1: Phillies 4 - Brewers 2

Freddy Peralta put together an excellent start in his third go-round. He pitched five innings and gave up just one run on only three hits with six punchouts. Pitch count got the best of him, as he reached eighty-nine pitches by the end of the fifth and had to give way to the bullpen. Still, it’s encouraging to see Freddy put together an excellent start with six punchouts and limiting baserunners. 

Peralta struggled in the first yet again, giving up a run-scoring double to Bryce Harper and walking JT Realmuto, but he popped up Kyle Schwarber to get out of the jam. Peralta cruised through the next four innings, striking out the side in order in the second and only allowing two more baserunners overall. 

Aaron Ashby came in in the sixth and was called on to pitch multiple innings in relief. He allowed multiple baserunners in the sixth and walked a runner in the seventh. It can be questioned if he should have been brought out for the eighth with just a one-run lead, and after the first three Phillies reached base, Aaron Ashby struck out Schwarber, giving the Brewers the chance to turn a double play and get out of the jam. Craig Counsell turned to Brad Boxberger, who gave up back-to-back singles, and three runs later, the Crew were down two. Boxberger got out of the jam with no further damage, but this is an obvious situation where Devin Williams would be used if not struggling in the early season. 

Former Brewer Corey Knebel put the Crew down in the top of the ninth to finish the comeback for the Phils and end the Brewers' four-game winning streak. 

Game 2: Brewers 5 - Phillies 3

Adrian Houser got off to a rocky start, giving up three runs in the first three innings tonight, but the offense picked him up, putting up a four-spot in the fifth, and tacking one on later on a Hunter Renfroe solo home run. The bullpen pitched three scoreless innings, and the Brewers put the blown save from the day before behind them.

Houser gave up a run in the first on the double to Nick Castellanos and two more runs in the third inning on an RBI single to former Brewers shortstop Jean Segura and a sacrifice fly to Castellanos.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler held the Brewers offense in check until the fifth inning when they busted through with three runs to tie the game on RBI singles by Jace Peterson, Willy nineAdames, and Christian Yelich. The Brewers weren’t done just yet, as they took the lead on a beautifully executed double steal with Yelich taking second and Adames swiping home on the delayed steal.

Hunter Renfroe extended the lead in the sixth with his second homer of the still-young season. Renfroe’s hot streak has brought his slash line to a respectable .260/.309/.460, which is probably right in line with what most people expected of Renfroe when he was acquired in the Jackie Bradley Jr. trade.  After his early-season struggles mainly looked like a small sample size, and batted ball data shows his exit velo shows he’s been hitting into his fair share of bad luck, hopefully, the extra-base hits start piling up, and we get the Renfroe we expected. 

After getting touched up a bit in the first three innings, Houser settled in and pitched well enough to work through six innings, giving up the three runs on five hits and just one walk.  

The bullpen combo of Trevor Gott, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader locked down the last three innings. Hader earned his seventh save in seven tries.  

Game 3: Brewers 1 - Phillies 0

Brewers get a prime-time game in the Sunday night ESPN slot in the series finale against the Phillies. Eric Lauer and Aaron Nola put on a stellar pitching duel, with Lauer notching a career-high thirteen strikeouts in just six innings. Lauer pitched six innings and didn’t allow a run, scattering five hits and a walk. 

Phils starter Nola was just as effective, striking out nine Brewers in seven innings himself, allowing just a lone double to Tyrone Taylor and walking one. 

After Brad Boxberger and Devin Williams pitched the seventh and eighth scoreless, the game went to the ninth without a tally. The Brewers put men on the corners with one out and finally broke through with a sacrifice fly from Christian Yelich. 

Both pitching staff seemed to benefit from the *generous* strike zone from home plate umpire Angel Hernandez over the game. Kyle Schwarber took issue with the zone's expansion in the ninth inning and was tossed for his protestations. 

Josh Hader nailed down the final out and secured the 1-0 victory for the Crew, getting the series win. The Brewers head home to play just one game against the Giants, now standing at 10-6 overall on the season.