Phillies 4, Brewers 1: A frustrating day with just 5 hits and some shaky pitching

One day after exploding for 13 runs in a romp over Philadelphia, the Milwaukee Brewers’ bats were mostly quiet Saturday afternoon at Miller Park.

The result was a 4-1 loss to the Phillies, snapping the first-place Brewers’ three-game winning streak. And it could have been worse, considering the visitors accumulated nine hits and 10 walks. 

The Brewers managed only five hits off starter Zach Eflin and the Philadelphia bullpen the day after jumping on ace Jake Arrieta and Co. for 13 hits in a 13-2 rout. It was reminiscent of the series the previous weekend at Citizens Bank Park, when the Brewers routed Arrieta and the bullpen, 12-3, only to lose the next day, 4-3, to Eflin and his relievers.

BOX SCORE:Phillies 4, Brewers 1

ANALYSIS:From start to finish, it was an ugly afternoon for the Brewers

NOTES:Ryan Braun's offensive frustrations continue

HAUDRICOURT:What to do with Orlando Arcia?

MLB:Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics

The Brewers struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning off Eflin. The right-hander limited them to two runs over six innings the previous Sunday in Philadelphia. Christian Yelich walked with one down, moved up on a groundout and scored when Travis Shaw punched a 0-2 changeup through the right side for an RBI single.

It remained 1-0 until the fourth inning, when Rhys Hoskins tied it with one mighty swing. Leading off, Hoskins jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Junior Guerra and drove it off the glass facing of the Stadium Club, a drive estimated at 431 feet.

Another leadoff homer in the fifth inning put the Phillies ahead, 2-1, but this time it came from an unexpected source. Backup catcher Andrew Knapp, hitting .179 with no homers, knocked a 2-0 fastball out to center, just over the yellow stripe atop the wall.

It was still 2-1 when Guerra issued a one-out walk to Scott Kingery in the sixth, prompting manager Craig Counsell to summon left-handed reliever Boone Logan. It was a curious pitching move because Guerra had allowed only four hits and was at 82 pitches, and Logan mostly has struggled this season (2.032 WHIP in 15 outings, .302 opponents batting average) since missing the first six weeks with a triceps strain.

Nick Williams greeted Logan with a double, giving left-handed hitters a .409 batting average (9 for 22) against him. After Logan struck out Knapp, a switch-hitter who batted right-handed, pinch-hitter Maikel Franco was intentionally walked to load the bases.

That brought up lefty-hitting J.P. Crawford, the No. 9 hitter who had struck out twice against Guerra and was batting .195. Crawford drew a walk on a 3-2 slider that was low, forcing in a run. When César Hernández tapped an infield hit toward third base to make it 4-1, that was all for Logan.

The Brewers put two on with one down in the eighth but reliever Seranthony Dominguez struck out Eric Thames and Christian Yelich on sliders to end that threat.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR BRAUN: Ryan Braun, who collected his 1,000th career RBI earlier in the season, reached another milestone in the fifth inning when he swiped his 200th base. After leading off with a single, Braun swiped second with one down for his seventh steal of the season. Braun is in third place on the team’s all-time list, trailing Paul Molitor (412 steals) and Robin Yount (271). He is the only active player in the majors with 300 career homers and 200 steals.

STARTING PITCHING ON A ROLL: The Brewers’ string of consecutive quality starts (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs) ended at four, a season high. Over that stretch, the starters posted a 0.69 ERA. “We’ve got a bunch of guys pitching well right now,” manager Craig Counsell said. Both the rotation and bullpen will be tested between now and the all-star break, with only one off day (June 25) on the schedule.

KRATZ TRADE COMPLETED: The Brewers completed the May 25 trade that brought catcher Erik Kratz from New York by sending the Yankees minor-league infielder Wendell Rijo. Acquired with pitcher Aaron Wilkerson from Boston in July 2016 for infielder Aaron Hill, Rijo, 22, was playing at Class AA Biloxi, batting .200 in 32 games with four homers, 14 RBI and .304 OBP.

HITTING THE CEILING AGAIN: For the fourth time this season, the Brewers tried to move 16 games over .500.  And for the fourth time, they failed. The Brewers have not been 16 games over .500 since Aug. 19, 2014 (71-55).

TWO MORE PICKS SIGNED: The Brewers announced the signings of two more draft picks: Left-hander Clayton Andrews, a 17th rounder from Long Beach State; and catcher Caleb Marquez, a 39th rounder from Blue Springs (Mo.) High School. Andrews is an interesting player. He was one of the Dirtbags’ best pitchers and their starting centerfielder but slid to the 17th round because he is only 5-foot-6.

RECORD

This year: 42-28

Last year: 37-33

ATTENDANCE

Saturday: 40,531

This year: 1,160,691 (34,138 avg.)

Last year: 971,312 (28,568 avg.)

COMING UP

Sunday: Phillies at Brewers, 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (5-5, 4.13) vs. Philadelphia RHP Aaron Nola (8-2, 2.27). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.