Brewers pick up series-opening victory against Phillies, 6-2, in vintage win

Brewers look the part of a contender in series opener

Box Score

Milwaukee put together a vintage Brewers’ win in their 6-2 triumph over the Phillies.

In this series opener, with both teams vying for a top seed in the National League, the Brewers excelled in all the areas that make them great. Some small ball, opposite-field hits, clever baserunning, and timely pitching all factored into their convincing victory.

It started with Aaron Civale’s impressive night, shutting down the Phillies lineup apart from a solo home run to Brandon Marsh in the fifth inning. He worked around seven hits to finish with just one run on his ledger across five innings. He tallied six strikeouts and even had a heads-up play in the third inning. Trea Turner attempted to jump the pitch delivery, but Civale calmly spun around to catch him stealing.

The defense was, as always, a crucial part of the victory. Double plays in the fourth and seventh innings helped provide some relief to the pitchers, but the highlight came in the third inning. On Turner’s aforementioned single, Cal Stevenson attempted to advance to third on the opposite field hit. Sal Frelick was able to deliver a strong throw, cutting down the runner to keep the Phillies out of scoring position.

As Civale finished his five innings of work, he came back out for the sixth and quickly found himself in trouble. Back-to-back singles to Schwarber and Turner left him responsible for two runners as Hoby Milner came in to play the role of fireman. He did just that, recording three straight outs, including a chopped ground ball back to the mound.

While the Phillies scattered hits throughout the game — including a hit in all nine innings — it was the Brewers offense that proved capable of sustaining a rally and working through the entirety of the lineup. Milwaukee is consistent with their quality plate approaches, and it paid dividends in this matchup. They scored three runs against Phillies starter Ranger Suárez but forced him out of the game after just five innings with his pitch count coasting past 100.

In the third inning, Jackson Chourio worked a walk with Blake Perkins notching the first single of his multi-hit night. That set the stage for William Contreras, who slapped a hit through the infield all the way to the outfield wall, scoring both runners on an RBI double. It was a full-count hit, as well, as Contreras finished the night with two walks. Over the past seven games, he has walked (six) more times than he has struck out (five), leading to a 1.119 OPS.

In the next inning, the Brewers picked up right where they had left off. Rhys Hoskins worked a leadoff walk with Frelick slashing an opposite-field double. That immediately put two runners in scoring position, once again putting the Phillies pitcher under heavy duress.

It’s been a rough month for Frelick, so hopefully moments like this help spark his bat. He’s been impressive on defense, of course, but his profile could lend to a much better stat line than he’s seen recently. When he’s able to make contact like that, he’s yet another cog in the ruthless machine that is this Brewers lineup.

Joey Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly to score another run, sending the Brewers up 3-0, but Brice Turang and Chourio were unable to expand on the lead with Frelick at third.

After a scoreless inning from the Brewers, they hopped right back on the scoreboard, a consistent theme throughout the night. Gary Sánchez walked (yeah, the Brewers walked a lot!). A forceout eliminated Sánchez but put Frelick on at first, and Ortiz stepped up to the plate looking to continue his recent success. He did just that, hitting the ball to the wall in right, setting Frelick off to the races. Frelick was already in motion on the pitch, so he scored easily.

The most impressive part was that Ortiz stretched it into a triple instead of settling for the double.

How many lineups in baseball can boast a player like Ortiz in their eight-spot? His .805 OPS over the last 15 games has consisted of nine runs and six RBIs, evidence of the run-scoring potential the bottom of this lineup has.

Turang added to his opposite-field tally this season to send Ortiz home with a base hit, extending the lead to 5-1.

After the bullpen conceded a run in the seventh, the Brewers added another run in their half of the inning. Perkins led off with his second hit and Contreras’ walk left the Phillies facing another no-outs situation with multiple runners. While Milwaukee mustered just one run on a sacrifice fly from Sánchez, they had secured a 6-2 lead.

Colin Rea, who entered for Milner in that seventh when a run came across, was strong in his first true relief appearance of the season (he’s functioned as the “reliever” after an opener at several points this season. As a staff, the Brewers did an excellent job scattering Philadelphia’s 11 hits as crucial defensive plays and timely outs kept them off the board. Rea finished with 2 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless work, also collecting his first career save.

The Brewers saw multiple players step up throughout the game, a comprehensive victory over one of their chief rivals in this playoff-seeding race. Perkins and Turang each had two hits, while Frelick, Contreras, Hoskins, and Ortiz had one hit apiece.

The magic number to clinch the NL Central falls to two as the Cubs beat Oakland at Wrigley Field tonight. The Brewers have a chance to clinch on Tuesday with a win combined with a Cubs’ loss. Milwaukee is also now three games behind Philadelphia and two games behind the Dodgers for the one and two seeds (and a bye), respectively.

The Brewers will return to action tomorrow with Frankie Montas on the mound. The Phillies will have ace Zack Wheeler in another must-watch matchup. First pitch at 6:40 p.m.