:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/35318994/20140707_krj_bs5_0054.JPG.0.jpg)
W: Hamels, 3-5
L: Estrada, 7-6
HR: Utley (7)
WPA MVP: Braun, .165; LVP: Gomez, -.226
The Brewers put leadoff baserunners on in 6 out of the 9 innings tonight but only managed to score twice, thanks in part to 3 bad outs on the basepaths. Unfortunately, Marco Estrada gave up more than 2 runs runs on the night, so the Brewers lost to the Phillies (who came in having lost 9 of their last 10).
Estrada had a start similar to those we have been used to from him this year-- it featured him allowing a home run, striking people out but generally looking shaky, but coming away with a start that left his team in the game. He gave up a two-run homer to Chase Utley in the first inning and then was in an out of trouble through his five innings. Ryan Howard drove in the Phillies 3rd run in the top of the 3rd inning. In the top of the 5th, with the Brewers still down 3-0, Estrada walked Utley and Howard with 1 out to load the bases. Disaster was averted when Marlon Byrd hit a ground ball down the left field line that Aramis Ramirez made a phenomenal play on, throwing out Byrd on one hop to end the inning. Estrada finished with 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts.
After Estrada and the Brewers escaped the top of the 5th inning, in the bottom half the Brewers finally cashed in with runners on base. Among other missed opportunities, Carlos Gomez led off the 2nd inning with a double but was picked off second with 1 out. In the bottom half of the fifth, Khris Davis singled, Mark Reynolds reached on an error, and Jean Segura singled to load the bases. Jeff Bianchi pinch hit for Estrada and punched the first pitch of the at-bat from Hamels into right, driving in two runs. Unfortunately Segura made a poor, delayed decision to head to 3rd base and was easily gunned down to slow the rally.
Two of the Brewers 17 lefthanders in the bullpen shut down the Phillies in the 6th and 7th innings. In the bottom of the 7th the Brewers threatened again. Davis led off with a 4-pitch walk against Hamels. Mark Reynolds hooked a home run-length foul ball down the left field line that could not have missed the pole by more than a few feet, but eventually struck out. Jean Segura then battled Hamels with a 10 pitch at-bat that ended with a single to right. Martin Maldonado pinch hit in the pitchers spot and struck out on 8 pitches, but got Hamels out of the game. Righty Ken Giles came on to face Rickie Weeks (and notably not Scooter Gennett, who was still available on the bench). Weeks hit a long flyball to center that Ben Revere tracked down on the warning track to end the inning.
After Rob Wooten dealt with the Phillies in the top of the 8th, Ryan Braun fought through his lower back injury to smoke a double into the gap in left center. He hobbled into second base and was replaced by Logan Schafer. He proceeded to immediately TOOTBLAN, for the third of the night by the Brewers, by trying to advance to 3rd base on a ground ball in front of him to short. Giles struck out Gomez for the second out and got Ramirez to ground out to short to end the inning.
Wooten came back out to battle through a scoreless top of the ninth, but Jonathan Papelbon had no problems with the bottom of the order in the bottom half of the ninth and breezed his way to a save and a Phillies win.