'Just wasn't our day': Brewers lament missed chances
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MILWAUKEE -- During their strong stretch over the past three weeks, the Brewers had been one of the best teams in baseball with runners in scoring position.
Sunday afternoon was a rare off day in that department, as they came up short in their bid for a sweep in a 4-2 loss to the Phillies at American Family Field.
- Games remaining: at PIT (3), at NYY (3), vs. MIA (4), vs. WAS (3), at STL (4), at MIA (3), vs. STL (3), vs. CHC (3)
- Standings update: The Brewers (76-70) hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Cubs (73-64) atop the National League Central. With head-to-head records determining a potential tiebreaker, the clubs are tied 5-5 with three games remaining in the season series.
“I don’t think we had a hit with men in scoring position today,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Unless you're hitting home runs with men on base, it's tough to put up a big number without that. We were missing the next hit today. There were a couple spots where it could have tied the game or given us some cushion. Just didn't get it today.”
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Along with the missed chances, starter Wade Miley ran into trouble later in his outing, taking a tough loss after carrying a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.
Milwaukee entered the series finale with a 14-5 record over its past 19 games. A key part of that stretch dating to Aug. 11 was their success with runners in scoring position. The Brewers’ 171 wRC+ in those spots led MLB over that span, one in which they slashed .340/.453/.558 with RISP.
Sunday, however, they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. That included a third-inning chance in which Milwaukee had two runners on with one out, then loaded the bases with two outs -- but didn’t score.
In the seventh, Owen Miller and Mark Canha drew back-to-back walks to open the inning, only for Phillies lefty Matt Strahm to retire William Contreras (flyout to warning track), Carlos Santana (strikeout) and Willy Adames (pop out).
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Though they couldn't come through, there is still something to be said about the heavy traffic the Brewers had on the bases. The more opportunities they give themselves, the better off they’ll be in the long run.
“That’s why we've been winning so much, I think,” Canha said. “You’ve got to keep giving yourself chances, and we've done a great job of late. Today just wasn't our day.”
Milwaukee’s two runs came via solo homers by Contreras and Canha in the first and third innings, respectively.
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Meanwhile, Miley, who held the Phillies hitless through 5 2/3 innings, ran into trouble as he faced Philadelphia’s lineup for the third time.
“I just went from executing really well, and then kind of ran out of gas a little bit there late,” Miley said. “Just didn't execute, and they made me pay for it.”
Kyle Schwarber walked with two outs in the sixth, then Trea Turner ended the no-hit bid with a 106.8 mph single that deflected off third baseman Andruw Monasterio’s glove. Nick Castellanos followed with an RBI double before Miley struck out Bryce Harper.
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Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto then hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the seventh. Miley responded by striking out Bryson Stott, but a walk to Cristian Pache ended Miley's day.
“Wade threw the ball for the first five innings -- as well as you could have hoped,” Counsell said. “Had a ball off the glove [that could have been] the last out of the sixth. That was hard-hit. He worked out of that and got Harper in a big spot.
"It’s the home runs that hurt us, obviously, in that [seventh] inning. Through Stott, I liked [keeping Miley in]. I thought we could get out of the inning, even if he got in a little trouble.”
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The Brewers will now hit the road to face the Pirates and Yankees this week. Even with two sub.-500 teams on deck, Milwaukee knows it can’t take anything for granted at this point in the season.
“We’ve just got to keep playing one game at a time,” Miley said. “The magnitude of each game down the stretch right now is so important. Just being able to go out -- wherever we're at, whoever we're playing -- and just play clean baseball and keep putting pressure on people.”