The offense almost comes through in a ninth-inning rally,
A series that opened on a high note for the Milwaukee Brewers ended with a decided thud on Sunday afternoon.
Chase Anderson surrendered two homers and a season-high six runs, and the normally reliable bullpen leaked oil for the second consecutive day as the Brewers came up just short against the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-9, at Miller Park.
Milwaukee’s pitchers surrendered runs in six of the nine innings as the Brewers lost a series it began with a 13run outburst on Friday.
What appeared to be a foregone conclusion turned into an interesting game in the bottom of the ninth when Jesús Aguilar opened with a homer to pull the Brewers to within 10-6.
Jonathan Villar followed with a single and Hernán Pérez doubled to put runners in scoring positon with nobody out. After Manny Piña popped out and Ryan Braun struck out, Eric Thames slugged a three-run homer to right – his second homer of the game – to pull Milwaukee to within 10-9.
That prompted Phillies manager Gabe Kapler to pull Hector Neris in favor of left-hander Jake Thompson with Christian Yelich coming up. Yelich responded with a drive to deep center, but Odubel Herrera made a nice running catch heading toward the wall to end the game.
In the end, it was Herrera’s leadoff homer off Corey Knebel in the top of the ninth that proved to be the difference in the game.
Anderson found himself in a 2-0 hole just three pitches into the game after surrendering a first-pitch single followed by a Rhys Hoskins homer to left, a blow that upped his earned run average in the first inning this season to 8.36.
In 5 1/3 innings, Anderson (5-6) allowed five hits, a season-high six runs and two walks to go along with five strikeouts.
The Brewers got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on a Yelich RBI sacrifice fly, but a two-out, two-RBI single by Maikel Franco off Taylor Williams made it an 8-5 game.
The game took an ugly turn in the eighth as rookie Adrian Houser, who’d been recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs earlier in the day, vomited behind the mound twice during his appearance.
Houser – perhaps hit hard by the tropical temperature and humidity – finished out the inning, allowing a run, before being replaced by Knebel.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
IT’S BEEN A WHILE: The Brewers had a pair of players making their first starts of the season at non-customary positions. Thames made his first start in left field since Oct. 1, 2017. Pérez, meanwhile, started at shortstop for the first time since May 6, 2017. Thames is the fourth Brewer to start a game in left this season and seventh player to start a game in the outfield overall while Pérez is the fourth to start a game at shortstop.
WELCOME BACK: Rookie Freddy Peralta will be recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs to start Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, the Brewers announced. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in two previous starts for the Brewers and 6-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 12 starts (59 innings) for the Sky Sox.
MAMA’S BOYS: It’s official – the Brewers have the worst record all-time in Father’s Day games at 19-33. The Texas Rangers had held that distinction until they won Sunday. Conversely, the Brewers are have the best record in the major leagues on Mother’s Day at 33-19.
ELITE COMPANY: Ryan Braun entered Sunday with a .300 batting average, 310 homers and 200 stolen bases in 10-plus years in the majors. Only four players have reached those marks over the course of their entire careers – Hank Aaron, George Brett, Willie Mays and Larry Walker.
REHAB ROAD: Wade Miley pitched a simulated game earlier Sunday, and manager Craig Counsell said the lefthander will next head out to Class AA Biloxi for what will be a lengthy rehab process as he continues to work his way back from a strained right oblique.
“The 60-day DL kind of dictates things for Wade,” Counsell said. “It’s going to be at least four starts because of that but he’s also been out longer, as well.”