Brewers blocked from clinch by Phillies in 5-1 loss

Garrett Mitchell had the lone RBI in the loss

Box Score

Day one of the clinch watch didn’t go completely according to plan. The Brewers couldn’t get much going against Zack Wheeler and the Phillies on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Phillies hit two home runs as the Brewers fell to them, 5-1.

Frankie Montas started out the game strong, pitching a 1-2-3 first inning with two strikeouts. However, the Phillies got him for the first time in the second on a Nick Castellanos leadoff home run. That was Montas’ biggest mistake in the first five innings. Other than that, he was matching Wheeler early on.

The Brewers’ lone run came in the fourth inning. With one out, William Contreras singled to set up Garrett Mitchell. He placed a hit perfectly, hitting a ball that shot through the right-center gap all the way to the wall. By the time the Phillies could get it back in, Contreras had scored easily and Mitchell had an RBI triple.

However, the Phillies got to Montas in the sixth. After Kyle Schwarber beat out a soft infield single to start the sixth, Bryce Harper sent one out into the Brewers’ bullpen to put the Phillies up 3-1. After allowing two more baserunners, Montas was lifted for Aaron Ashby. Montas fell just short of a quality start, pitching 5 ²⁄₃ innings with three runs allowed. He also allowed six hits and two walks, but struck out 10.

Aaron Ashby finished up the sixth for Montas, but then got into a little trouble himself in the seventh. Edmundo Sosa doubled to start the inning, then Schwarber was up again two batters later. He hit a ball that deflected off Ashby, then bounced softly into the shallow right field gap between Brice Turang and Jake Bauers. That was enough to get Sosa home from second, and the Phillies increased their lead to 4-1.

Ashby finished up the seventh with no further damage. Joel Payamps came in for the eighth and had a clean inning with two strikeouts. Enoli Paredes got the ninth, and the Phillies tacked on a run off him. A one-out walk to Johan Rojas turned into a run after he stole second and scored on a Trea Turner single.

The Brewers offense just couldn’t get going tonight. They managed just five hits, with two of those coming from Mitchell. The offense also didn’t draw a single walk, further adding on to their struggles.

With the loss, the Phillies claim the season series over the Brewers with four wins. That effectively pushes the Phillies five games ahead of the Brewers for the top seed. The Phillies have a four-game lead currently, and with the tiebreaker that adds another game for the Brewers to overtake them.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers also lost to the Marlins tonight, 11-9. The Brewers remain effectively three games behind the Dodgers for the second seed (two games plus a lost tiebreaker).

Despite the loss, the Brewers magic number for the NL Central fell to one after the Cubs lost to the Athletics at home, 4-3. As a result, the Brewers could still take the field tomorrow as NL Central champions. The Cubs and Athletics play their rubber match at 1:20 p.m. tomorrow, and the Brewers would clinch if the Cubs lost that game.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow afternoon, the Brewers and Phillies will play their rubber match tomorrow night. It will be another tough task for the Brewers as they face Aaron Nola of the Phillies. They will counter with Freddy Peralta. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.