Crew Down: Phillies 6, Brewers 3

I must admit, after listening to Mike Schmidt explain his theory as to how to make the game “fairer” for right-handed hitters – which, in case you did not hear it, is to make hitters run to 1^st base for the first half of the game and then to 3^rd base for the second half – I very seriously contemplated turning the game off. But I persevered to get this recap done.

After the Phils nearly pulled out a W after an 8-1 comeback last night, they were able to grab the lead for good in the 5th inning and pulled away for a 6-3 victory over the Brewers.

Nick Williams started the scoring as he, yet again, flashed his impressive opposite field power when he hit a 2-run shot to left-center field to put the Phils up 2-0 in the 4th inning. How impressive are Williams’ opposite field numbers? Here, let CSN Philly’s Corey Seidman tell you:

Everything we’ve seen out of the 23-year old thus far has been impressive, but to be hitting above .500 on balls hit the opposite way is something else. The kid is legit.

The Brew Crew answered quickly as Jonathan Villar blooped a single over the heads of Maikel Franco and Freddy Galvis to tie the game at 2 in the top of the 5th inning. The two baserunners who scored both got aboard via Eickhoff’s only two walks of the game.

Then the Phils offense delivered in the bottom of the 5th as eight hitters came to the plate en route to a four-run inning. The rally was started by Eickhoff, who went 2 for 2 with a pair of singles at the plate. With the bases loaded and no one out, professional hitter Howie Kendrick roped a single up the middle to knock in two runs. Two batters later, Williams stepped back up and reached on an error by Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia while also collecting his third RBI of the day. Odubel Herrera rounded out the scoring in the frame by poking a 1-2 pitch the opposite way for an RBI single and a 6-2 lead. Odubel’s approach on the pitch was a very encouraging sign as he stayed behind the ball and did not try to do too much. And if you were wondering, of course Odubel bat-flipped upon singling.

The final run of the game came on Phillie-killer Ryan Braun’s RBI double off the wall in right field. That made it 6-3 Phillies. Williams made a nice play to get the ball in quick, but the throw missed the cutoff man and trickled all the way through the infield. Otherwise, the relay may have been enough to gun Villar at the plate.

Eickhoff had a classic Eickhoff outing, going six grind-it-out innings while allowing just two runs on three hits and two walks. He threw 97 pitches - 54 for strikes - largely due to how many 3-ball counts he pitched himself into. Pat Neshek threw yet another scoreless inning of relief, this one coming in front of scouts from a handful of organizations. Luis Garcia was awarded closing duties and worked a 1-2-3 9th inning for his first save since October 2015.

The offense has been clicking as of late, so much so that they have done something that no Phillies team has done since 2005.

And as we all know, much of this season has been a nightmare for the Phillies. This tweet pretty much tells the story.

Hopefully they can keep this up, not only for them but also for our own sanity.