Jake Arrieta pitched the Phillies past Milwaukee at Miller Park
This was shaping up to be the type of game that has bedeviled the Philadelphia Phillies all season. Build a lead, fail in chances to put it away. Watch the opposition come back late. Take a small lead into the last inning. Home opponent rallies to a walkoff win against the bullpen.
This was shaping up to be the type of game that has bedeviled the Philadelphia Phillies all season. Build a lead, fail in chances to put it away. Watch the opposition come back late. Take a small lead into the last inning. Home opponent rallies to a walkoff win against the bullpen.
Three times already this season the opposition has done it. Walked off with a win in their final at-bats. It just happened four days ago in Chicago, for goodness sakes. And here we were again. Phillies build a 4-0 lead. Two on, one out in the top of the 7th inning. Nothing to show for it.
The Milwaukee Brewers (29-24) used a solo homer off the bat of Mike Moustakas in the home 7th to get on the scoreboard. Then a leadoff single by Eric Thames in the bottom of the 8th was followed one out later by an RBI double from Orlando Arcia. Suddenly it was a 4-2 game with the tying run at the plate.
But something different would happen this time. The bullpen didn’t blow the game, at least in part because they weren’t in the game. Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta was still in there, and manager Gabe Kapler was showing faith in the veteran right-hander. Arrieta rewarded that faith, retiring the final two batters in the frame and keeping the lead at 4-2.
And then the Phillies bats did something they have done very seldom this season. They struck a late blow against the opposition. Actually, a couple of late blows. Big blows. After Jean Segura led off the top of the 9th with a base hit, Rhys Hoskins followed two batters later by blasting his 13th home run of the season out high and deep to left-center field.
