After reaching .500 yesterday against a historically bad Marlins team, the Phillies went to Milwaukee for a sausage party against the second-worst team in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Phillies sent Tyler Cloyd to the mound. The Brewers sent out a hard-throwing Wily Peralta.
Peralta was wild tonight, and he started out with a nightmarish first inning. His defense let him down, as hits from Michael Young and John Mayberry eluded second baseman Scooter Gennett. Jimmy Rollins hit a legit single to right. Ryan Howard came to the plate with the bases loaded and worked the count full against a clearly struggling Peralta. He stung a ball to the left-center gap, but it was tracked down by Carlos Gomez. Still, Michael Young came home on the sacrifice. Domonic Brown walked after getting absolutely nothing to hit. A wild pitch allowed Mayberry to scoot home, and Delmon Young struck out. Erik Kratz grounded out, ending the inning. While it felt as though the Phillies should have scored more runs, they did ensure that Peralta would not pitch deep into the game, and they worked deep counts throughout the inning.
The Phillies struck again in the second. Cloyd worked a one out walk and he was driven home on a double by John Mayberry. Scooter Gennett yipped on the relay throw from Norichika Aoki, but Cloyd was running hard from first all the way and likely would have scored anyway.
In the third with one out, Brown singled to right and stole second. A poor throw and tag allowed Brown to steal third. A Delmon Young walk brought Kratz to the plate with runners at first and third, and he hit a soft fielder's choice that allowed Brown to scoot home. Had Brown not stolen second and third, the Philies likely would not have scored this run. It was a nice display of some of Brown's skills that involve something other than burying a ball 20 rows deep in right. The kid looks like he is getting more confident each day, and that is great to see.
In the fifth inning, Delmon Young hit a ball over the left-center wall to push the lead to 5 - 0.
Cloyd kept the Brewers in check throughout. He was typical Cloyd - nibbling, and not challenging hitters, but keeping the ball down and away and occasionally fooling hitters. In the seventh inning, after 108 pitches and with two outs, Cloyd was pulled after giving up a single to Aoki. Justin De Fratus came in to get the last out.
Mike Adams came on for the eighth and walked Ryan Braun. Braun stole second and advanced to third and scored on two groundouts. Adams escaped further harm, and the Phillies went into the ninth inning up 5 - 1. After going quietly at the plate, the Phillies sent Antonio Bastardo out for the save. Bastardo gave up an infield hit to start it off, but he closed it out effectively.
John Mayberry had a great night tonight, picking up three hits and an RBI. Dom Brown had a pair of hits, two stolen bases, and a walk. The biggest player of the game was Tyler Cloyd, though. He's never going to be a top-of-the-rotation guy, but he pitched a gutty, effective game tonight. He gave up 4 hits, struck out 2, but walked 5. That is not often a recipe for success, but it worked for him tonight.
Not a bad start to a 10 game road trip, and it is great to see the Phillies get a game above .500, too. The Brewers will be starting two relievers in the next two games, while the Phillies will be sending out Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick. The Phillies look to have a great shot to extend the current 5 game winning streak a little further.
Unfortunate Wheels quote of the night, about the left field line ball boy: "Now hit can sit down and rub it."
Encouraging sign of the night: Domonic Brown not trying to kill the ball, and just taking what he could get, including the walk and the two singles.
More at TheGoodPhight.com:
- The Phillies draft J.P. Crawford in the first round
- Phillies Stat Notes
- Phillies top Marlins 6 - 1
- Spread your wings, Neon Pegasus! They can take your wings but not your sparkle, and since I started listening to this, the Phillies are 5 - 0. Just saying.
Fangraph of Parry Gripp:
Source: FanGraphs