Brewers give up 3 runs in eighth, lose 4-2 to Phillies

Box Score

The Brewers looked to kick off their series against the Phillies with a win. Freddy Peralta was on the mound facing Philadelphia lefty Ranger Suarez. Peralta looked to improve on his abysmal first couple outings of the year. Counsell loaded the lineup with right-handed hitters, including Keston Hiura at first base and switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini.

Milwaukee had something going in the first inning, with Andrew McCutchen leading off with a double. Willy Adames then singled putting runners at the corners with no outs with Christian Yelich up to bat. He hit a weak groundball in front of the plate and Phillies catcher JT Realmuto made a throwing error resulting in the bases loaded with no outs. The opportunity flamed out, however, as Hunter Renfroe and Hiura struck out and Lorenzo Cain grounded into a fielder’s choice.

The Phillies struck first in the bottom of the first as Jean Segura hit a leadoff single and scored on a double off the wall by Bryce Harper. Peralta didn’t give up much more throughout his night.

Kolten Wong was taken out of the game with an injury in the bottom of the third and Hiura was moved to second base while Rowdy Tellez came in to play first. The Brewers tied up the game in the third when Adames scored from third on a sacrifice fly from Renfroe. Peralta finished five innings of one-run baseball and was replaced by Aaron Ashby in the bottom of the sixth.

Milwaukee managed to take a 2-1 lead after a seventh inning rally that featured a Mike Brosseau walk, a Caratini single, a wild pitch and a sac fly from McCutchen.

Ashby pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh but ran into trouble in the top of the eighth after three straight singles to load the bases for Philadelphia. After striking out Kyle Schwarber, Ashby was removed in favor of Brad Boxberger. Boxberger gave up a two-run single to Alec Bohm, giving the Phillies a 3-2 lead. The Phillies tacked on another run when Johan Camargo singled to bring home Realmuto, putting the Brewers behind by two entering the ninth.

The Brewers got nothing going in the ninth against former Brewer Corey Knebel, who recorded his third save of the season. Ashby was credited with a loss and Nick Nelson got the win for Philadelphia.

Milwaukee will be in Philadelphia for two more before heading home for one game against the Giants on Monday. The Brewers will have Adrian Houser on the mound facing Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 3:05 CDT on Bally Sports Wisconsin and 620 WTMJ.