Phillies win another series as Jake Arrieta shuts downs the Brewers

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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.

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.

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Phillies to spend Memorial Day weekend 2019 at Miller Park in Milwaukee

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Phillies hope to keep Bernie Brewer from sliding much this weekend

The Philadelphia Phillies (29-21) will be spending Memorial Day weekend at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers (29-22), who are currently sitting in second place in the National League Central Division standings.

The Brew Crew trail the Chicago Cubs, against whom the Phillies just split a four-game series, by 1.5 games, three in the loss column. They enjoyed an off-day on Thursday prior to this series, coming off an 11-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in their previous game on Wednesday night.

It was just over a week ago that the Brewers captured three of four games between the two teams at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won the opener of that series by 7-4 when J.T. Realmuto and Odubel Herrera produced run-scoring doubles to break up a 4-4 tie game. But Milwaukee roared back to capture the final three games by a combined 22-6 runs margin.

The two clubs have proven very evenly matched in recent years with the Phillies holding a 10-9 edge in their 19 meetings over the three previous combined entering this 2019 season.

The Brewers (250) and Phillies (249) rank 4th and 5th respectively in the NL in runs scored, though Milwaukee has played one more game. The Atlanta Braves (252) are 3rd, and also have one more game than the Phillies.

Milwaukee is a well-rounded, dynamic offensive ball club. The Brewers hitters collectively rank 4th in OPS and 5th in OBP. They lead the entire National League in home runs and are tied for the league lead in stolen bases. No slouch with their gloves, the Brew Crew defenders have committed the 5th-fewest errors in the NL while handling the 2nd-most chances.

After splitting their series at Wrigley Field with the Cubs, the Phillies are now 6-5 during what we have described previously here at Phillies Nation as a 23-game “crucible”, a nearly month-long stretch against top-notch competition from outside the NL East Division. That stretch continues this weekend.