Shaw comes through again
Brewers third baseman hits game-deciding HR
Mr. Consistency keeps coming through. Travis Shaw, who was the Milwaukee Brewers’ most valuable player during a steady and productive first half, delivered in the clutch again Saturday night with an eighth-inning homer that gave his streaking club a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia at Miller Park.
It was the 11th triumph in the last 13 games for the first-place Brewers, who moved a season-high 11 games over .500. They remain 5 1/2 games ahead of Chicago in the National League Central.
It was evident early on that Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson once again was on top of his game. He struck out five batters over the first two innings, allowing only a harmless double to Cameron Rupp with two down in the second.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola also came out showing he meant business. Eric Thames sliced an oppositefield double to left with one out in the first, but Nola shook that off and the pitching duel was on.
Philadelphia finally broke through for a run in the fifth, but it took a helping hand from Nelson to do it. With one down, Rupp drew a walk and Nick Williams stroked an opposite-field single to left.
Nelson then uncorked a low-and-inside curveball
that catcher Stephen Vogt couldn’t handle, and the runners moved up on the wild pitch. That’s all it took to set up a sacrifice fly to right by Ty Kelly, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
The Brewers came right back to tie it in the bottom of the inning. Jonathan Villar, showing signs of finally getting going at the plate, took a back-door curveball the other way to left for a two-out single, swiped second and scored on Thames’ double to center – a drive high off the wall that barely missed going out.
Leading off the bottom of the sixth, Hernán Perez did not miss. Nola did not get a 1-0 fastball inside enough, and Perez turned on it and drove it out to left for his 11th homer and a 2-1 lead.
The Phillies replied in kind in the seventh with one out. Odubel Herrera reached out and got enough of a 2-1 curveball from Nelson to yank it out to right field and tie the game 2-2.
Shaw’s homer snapped that tie and the Brewers bullpen came through again. Corey Knebel took care of the ninth, recording his 16th save and extending his major-league record to 45 consecutive games with at least one strikeout. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff, who strained a hamstring stretching before what would have been his first major-league start on June 13 in St. Louis, began a minor-league rehab assignment Saturday night with the Brewers’ rookie team in the Arizona League. Woodruff, who went 6-4 with a 4.12 ERA in 12 starts at Class AAA Colorado Springs before being called up, had been at the Brewers’ training facility in Phoenix doing physical therapy and throwing sessions.
Right-hander Junior Guerra still has to throw a bullpen session to test his bruised right shin, but Counsell said “it’s looking pretty good” for him to start Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Guerra was placed on the 10-day DL after taking a shot off the leg in New York on July 7 because he wouldn’t pitch until that day against the Pirates in any event. STAT SHEET
The Brewers had to feel good about keeping Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco under wraps. In four previous games at Miller Park, he was 11 for 18 (.611) with three homers, 10 RBI and 1.833 OPS.
The Brewers relief corps was scuffling at one point in the first half, mostly from overwork, but it has been a strength of late. Since June 20, the bullpen has posted a 2.05 ERA, the best in the majors over that span. TAKEAWAY
Home runs have been a way of life for the Brewers and that continues to be their winning formula. Pérez hit one to tie the game and Shaw hit another to win it. This team would make Harvey’s Wallbangers proud. RECORD
This year: 52-41 (28-23 home; 24-18 away)
Last year: 40-53 ATTENDANCE Saturday: 37,950 2017 total: 1,493,920 (29,293 avg.)
Last year: 1,489,608 (29,208 avg.) NEXT GAME
Sunday: Brewers vs. Phillies, 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Matt Garza (4-4, 3.98) vs. Philadelphia RHP Jeremy Hellickson (5-5, 4.49). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.