Six runs in the sixth inning propel Brewers to 8-5 win

WP: Wily Peralta (1-3)
LP: Jerad Eickhoff (1-3)
SV: Jeremy Jeffress (6)

HR: Ryan Braun (5), Scooter Gennett (4), Alex Presley (1)

Box Score

The Brewers offense wouldn't let them get swept for the first time this season. Using a six-run sixth inning, the Brewers helped Wily Peralta win for the first time this year as the Brewers avoided the sweep with an 8-5 win.

The Phillies scored first today, getting single runs off of Wily Peralta in the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Brewers would tie it up in the fourth though with a solo home run from Ryan Braun and a sacrifice fly from Aaron Hill. The Phillies came back with two more runs in the sixth inning on back-to-back RBI doubles to make it 4-2.

After that, the Brewers offense came together in the bottom half of the sixth. Scooter Gennett led off the inning with a solo home run. Ryan Braun followed with a single and Chris Carter with a double, then Kirk Nieuwenhuis drove them both in and gave the Brewers a 5-4 lead. That wouldn't be all for the offense. After Aaron Hill grounded out, Jonathan Villar hit and RBI double to make it 6-4, chasing Jerad Eickhoff from the game. Hector Neris came in and got Martin Maldonado to ground out, but Alex Presley pinch-hit and hit a two-run home run to cap the six-run sixth and increase the Brewers lead to 8-4.

On offense, four different Brewers (Doming Santana, Ryan Braun, Chris Carter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis) each had two hits, and Nieuwenhuis and Presley drove in two runs each as well. In a surprise stat of the day, neither team drew one walk. It's the second time this season that the Brewers didn't walk in a game (the other was April 5 against the GIants), and the first time this season the pitching staff did not walk a batter.

Wily Peralta has been taking small steps forward from a disasterous start to the season. While it's still not what the Brewers were hoping from him, it's another step in the right direction. By definition, he did post a quality start today: 3 earned runs in 6 innings, 4 runs allowed total. Of course, the error was his own, though that doesn't stop the run from being unearned. He also allowed 7 hits, but did strike out 5. It's still not where we were hoping Peralta would be, but it's an improvement.

Michael Blazek came in out of the bullpen and allowed a run in his inning of work. That would be all the runs allowed from the pitching staff, as Tyler Thornburg and Jeremy Jeffress combined to allow just one hit in two innings between the two of them (one inning each).

The Brewers have the day off tomorrow before kicking off a streak of 20 games in a row. They start with a three game series in Chicago against the Cubs. Jimmy Nelson is first up, facing Kyle Hendricks. First pitch is at 7:05 pm.