Brewers: 2nd chance leads Milwaukee to 6th win in 8 games
By Phil Watson
When is a strikeout not a strikeout?
When the catcher asks for time before strike three.
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The Philadelphia Phillies found a new and adventurous way to lose Tuesday night, when Carlos Gomez was given new life after appearing to strike out to end the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ All-Star center fielder made the most of his second chance, singling off reliever Ken Giles (3-2) to keep the inning going before Aramis Ramirez drove in the tying run with a single to left and, after Gerardo Parra walked to load the bases, Adam Lind walked on four straight pitches to force in the eventual winning run in the Crew’s 4-3 victory.
It was Milwaukee’s sixth win in its last eight games, despite committing three errors—all on bad throws—and leaving nine runners on base.
But the Brewers (31-48) were even better at stranding Phillies on base—11 of them in all as Philadelphia (27-52) managed to go just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position against six Milwaukee pitchers.
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Neal Cotts (1-0) got his first decision as a Brewer after getting the final out of the seventh inning in relief of right-hander Corey Knebel, who got the first two before allowing a hit.
Will Smith was ineffective, allowing a walk and two hits, but Jeremy Jeffress bailed the big left-hander out in the bottom of the eighth, getting Darin Ruf to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Francisco Rodriguez worked around a walk with a pair of strikeouts to get his 17th save in as many opportunities this season.
That came after rookie Taylor Jungmann wobbled his way through six innings, allowing three runs—two earned—on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
Milwaukee got a couple of runs in the top of the first off Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels. Jonathan Lucroy worked a one-out walk and went to second on an infield single by Ryan Braun that was deflected by third baseman Maikel Franco.
Gomez grounded out to move the runners to second and third and Ramirez grounded a single up the middle to score both runners.
But the Brewers gave away a run in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, Freddy Galvis bounced to Jason Rogers at first base. Rogers threw home to get the force, but Lucroy’s return throw was off target, allowing Cody Asche to score.
The Phillies tied it in the third on an RBI groundout by Domonic Brown and took the lead in the sixth when Carlos Ruiz hit his first homer of the season off Jungmann.
For the second night in a row, a Brewer put together a four-hit game. This time, it was Braun who was 5-for-5, raising his average to .275. Ramirez was 2-for-4 with three RBI and, shockingly, his first stolen base of the season. Hernan Perez was also 2-for-4.
“It’s a win you feel like you kind of snatched from them a little bit,” manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com.
Lucroy had two throwing errors Tuesday and has three in the series.
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Kyle Lohse (4-9, 6.28 ERA) takes on one of his former teams Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. Central as the Brewers try to wrap up their third straight series victory.
Lohse is 5-5 in 15 career starts against Philadelphia, where he pitched 13 games in 2007. He has a 3.23 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 94.2 innings. He split two starts against the Phillies in 2014, allowing seven runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts.
Lohse won his last start on Friday against the Minnesota Twins at Miller Park despite allowing four runs on six hits in six innings.
Philadelphia will counter with right-hander Aaron Harang (4-10, 3.56 ERA). Harang, a longtime Cincinnati Red, is 7-6 in 27 appearances and 26 starts against Milwaukee, with a 4.10 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. Last season, pitching with the Atlanta Braves, he was 1-0 in two starts, allowing four runs in 12 innings.
In his last outing, Harang lost his seventh straight start, allowing five runs—four earned—in six innings of a 5-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday.
Next: Lucroy Bangs Out 4 Hits In Win