Guerra struggles while offense goes absent
Loss in finale is Brewers’ 7th defeat in last 8 games
PHILADELPHIA - Being swept by a talented and suddenly hot Pittsburgh Pirates team was relatively easy to justify
But following that up by falling just one ninth-inning RBI single shy of being swept by the worst team in the major leagues in the Philadelphia Phillies?
That’s much, much tougher to swallow.
With Junior Guerra off his game and the offense MIA once again – this time against the pedestrian Jerad Eickhoff – the Milwaukee Brewers fell in listless fashion, 6-3, at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday afternoon.
The loss was their seventh in eight games. And when the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3, Sunday night at Wrigley Field, the Brewers were left sharing the top spot in the National League Central with their rival.
“I don’t think we have to change much. We’re just not getting any breaks right now,” said reliever Michael Blazek, who played a role in the game-turning play in the fifth and, indeed, didn’t catch a
break.
“It’ll turn. Don’t think about it, don’t worry about it – just go out there and play our game.”
Eickhoff, who entered the day 1-7 with a 4.83 earned-run average, had little trouble with the Brewers through the first four frames.
Guerra, meanwhile, had runners on base every inning.
He worked around a Jonathan Villar error in the first, a walk in the second and a pair of singles in the third before his luck ran out in the fourth.
Guerra opened by walking Maikel Franco, then Nick Williams followed by swatting an opposite-field homer to left to put Philadelphia in front, 2-0.
Milwaukee used a good, old-fashioned rally to tie it in the fifth. It started with a pair of one-out walks, and Guerra dropped down a sacrifice bunt to set up a two-out, two-RBI, opposite-field single by Villar.
Just as quickly, the Brewers lost the momentum.
Eickhoff singled for the second time in as many at-bats to start the bottom half of the frame and Guerra walked César Hernández. A Freddy Galvis bunt loaded the bases, and Guerra’s day was over.
“He’d given up two runs in four innings at that point; he was surviving,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Then a leadoff single to the pitcher and a walk, and there was too much trouble.”
Blazek replaced Guerra and was greeted by a two-RBI single from Howie Kendrick that skipped just under his glove and into center. It was a high fastball in an 0-2 count, and somehow Kendrick got the bat on the ball.
“It’s just one of those things where you execute a pitch and you’re expecting to get something positive,” said Blazek. “I feel like it’s been like that this whole road trip so far. We’re making pitches and getting burned on some weaker contact. I had to watch the replay.
“Nothing you can do. I threw the pitch I wanted to right where it was supposed to be and it just didn’t work out the way I was hoping.”
Blazek stayed on for the next out then made way for Josh Hader, who wasn’t helped when Orlando Arcia booted what could have been a doubleplay chopper from Nick Williams, allowing another run to score.
Odubel Herrera’s RBI single made it 6-2 before a 5-4-3 double-play grounder finally ended the inning.
Guerra allowed five hits, five earned runs and three walks to go with three strikeouts in fourplus innings.
It was a big step back from his previous outing in Pittsburgh, and he’s now lasted four innings or fewer in in four of his last five starts.
“There was a bunch of 2-0 counts,” said Counsell. “By the time he left the game it was pretty close balls and strikes, about 50-50. We’ve got to have more strikes.
“It’s tough to pitch 2-0. Behind in the count, it’s going to cause you problems.”
Guerra dropped to 1-4 with a 5.22 ERA. He has posted just four quality starts in 13 total outings.
It’s been a frustrating season for Guerra, who suffered a calf strain in the opener, spent almost two months on the disabled list and hasn’t come close to looking like he did in 2016 when he broke through with a 9-3 record and 2.81 ERA.
“There’s no question it’s been different,” said Counsell. “Today, to me, was a little bit of what we’ve seen in the past – just struggling to get ahead of hitters and putting yourself in bad spots and kind of causing that survival mode because you’re behind in the count and there’s a lot of traffic on the bases.”
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
The Brewers’ 9-8 victory on Saturday gave them a 53-47 record with 100 games in the books.
“The challenge is to be in first place after 162, not after 100,” said Braun. “But certainly, we’re excited about the position we’re in. We’ve put ourselves in a good position.
“We have a challenging schedule ahead, and the goal remains to be in this position 62 games from now.”
One day after returning from the disabled list and starting at second base, Eric Sogard made way for Villar. Villar had a first-inning error then later contributed a two-RBI single that tied the game in the fifth.
“He’s healthy. He’s good,” manager Craig Counsell said of Sogard. “At second base, it’s going to be a little bit of a share for a while, and we’ll see if somebody gets hot and maybe they take the playing time.”
Sogard did get into the game in the eighth at shortstop and singled.
STAT SHEET
Domingo Santana entered Sunday hitting .378 with a homer and four RBI in 11 career games against the Phillies, who signed him as a non-drafted free agent back in 2009.
“This is where everything started,” Santana said, referring to the Phillies organization. “I still know a lot of guys in the Phillies organization. We still talk.”
Travis Shaw has run his errorless streak at third base to 67 games. That’s the second-longest streak at the position in team history.
TAKEAWAY
The Brewers responded to their crazy Saturday victory with a stinker. Guerra is back to struggling, and the offense was a no-show once again against a pitcher who had less-than-impressive numbers coming in. They’d better regroup in a hurry on the day off Monday because the trip ends against the NL East-leading Washington Nationals.
RECORD
This year: 53-48 (28-24 home; 25-24 away)
Last year: 45-56
NEXT GAME
Tuesday: Brewers at Nationals, 6:05 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (11-4, 4.76) vs. Washington RHP Edwin Jackson (1-0, 4.50). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.