Final: Brewers 3, Phillies 1
WP: Wily Peralta (3-7, 4.07 ERA) LP: Adam Morgan (3-4, 4.11 ERA) SV: Francisco Rodriguez (27)
Milwaukee, WI – In a game which took two hours and 30 minutes, before a crowd of 34,735 at Miller Park, the Philadelphia Phillies (46-70) dropped their 70th game of the season despite receiving a strong outing from rookie left hander Adam Morgan.
Amid lingering, and seemingly never-ending trade rumors, second baseman Chase Utley put on a show tonight in front of attending scouts. Going 4-5 with a double and a run-batted-in, Utley is now batting .500 (11-22) with four doubles since returning from the disabled list on August 7 against the San Diego Padres.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Brewers | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 4 | 0 |
The first base runner of the game did not reach until Phillies right fielder Domonic Brown walked on five pitches with one out in the top of the second inning. Philadelphia failed to bring the 2013 National League All-Star home, however, as left fielder Cody Asche and catcher Cameron Rupp grounded out and flew out respectively to end the inning.
Milwaukee added the first to the run column for either side this evening, as left fielder Khris Davis went yard to right center field, his 12th home run and 36th run-batted-in of the season. This was Morgan's eighth career home run allowed over nine starts.
The Brewers tacked-on two more runs of insurance an inning later in the bottom of the third. Third baseman Hernan Perez began the frame with a double to deep left field. After opposing pitcher Wily Peralta popped-out to Rupp through bunting, shortstop Jean Segura laced a RBI-single to center field. Segura advanced to second base on the throw. As the next batter, catcher Jonathan Lucroy, flew out to center field, Segura tagged second and came all the way home for the Brewers' third run of the night.
After six innings of play, the Phillies were 0-7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base with five offensive hits: Utley (2), shortstop Freddy Galvis, Asche, and Rupp.
Morgan's night came to a close after retiring his 11th straight batter, right fielder Ryan Braun, in the bottom of the sixth. The 25-year-old southpaw surrendered three runs tonight on just three hits.
Utley picked up his third hit of the night in the top of the seventh, a single, but was called out at second base to end the inning when trying to advance on the throw from Braun.
Peralta was excellent for the Brewers tonight, tossing seven shutout innings on six hits and two walks. He struck out three Phillies batters: Galvis, Rupp and Morgan.
Philadelphia's only significant rally Friday evening came in the top of the eighth inning against right handed reliever Will Smith. Third baseman Cesar Hernandez and center fielder Odubel Herrera walked and singled respectively to start the inning. This put runners on the corners with nobody out. Smith was effective after that point, however, as he recorded three straight outs without allowing a run to end the Phillies' threat.
An Utley RBI-single in the top of the ninth assured that the Phillies would not be blanked for the 12th time of the season. This would have been their first shutout on the losing side since right hander Aaron Nola's major league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 21.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Morgan | 6.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.11 |
| Wily Peralta | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.28 |
- Morgan: L; 81 pitches, 52 strikes; 6 groundouts, 6 flyouts; 21 faced batters
- Peralta: W; 95 pitches, 53 strikes; 11 groundouts, 5 flyouts; 28 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Elvis Araujo (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 3.06 ERA
- Hector Neris (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.37 ERA
Brewers
- Will Smith (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.23 ERA
- Francisco Rodriguez (9th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.96 ERA
At the Plate
Phillies
- Chase Utley: 4-5, RBI, .208 AVG
- Odubel Herrera: 1-3, BB, .286 AVG
- Cody Asche: 2-4, R, 2B, .258 AVG
Brewers
- Jean Segura: 1-4, R, RBI, .259 AVG
- Khris Davis: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, .233 AVG
- Hernan Perez: 1-3, R, 2B, .272 AVG
What's Next:
- Saturday, August 15, 2015: at Milwaukee Brewers, 7:10 pm
- RHP Jerome Williams (4-8, 5.73 ERA) vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson (9-9, 3.65 ERA)
- TV: NBC10; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Sunday, August 16, 2015: at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:10 pm
- RHP Aaron Harang (5-13, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Taylor Jungmann (6-4, 2.42 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 98.1 WOGL, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
