Ramirez leads Crew's comeback over Phils
PHILADELPHIA -- The Brewers found an interesting way to win, 4-3, Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Or it could be said the Phillies found an interesting way to lose. Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz called time on a 0-2 pitch to Carlos Gomez with two outs in the eighth inning, which Gomez swung at and missed. Ruiz's call for time extended Gomez's plate appearance against Phillies right-hander Ken Giles. Gomez singled and the inning continued from there as the Brewers scored twice to take a one-run lead , then stranded a slew of Phillies runners to complete Milwaukee's sixth victory in eight games.
Video: MIL@PHI: Timeout gives C. Gomez second chance
"It's a good win," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It's a win you feel like you kind of snatched from them a little bit."
The Phillies' eighth-inning meltdown wasted another fine start from Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who allowed just two runs in seven innings.
Video: MIL@PHI: Hamels allows two runs over seven frames
"It's tough," Hamels said about Ruiz calling time and Giles' subsequent struggles. "Sometimes it works to your advantage. Sometimes it doesn't. It's part of the game. You know you have to get the next guy. I think that's what I've had to learn. Bad situations where you think you have the guy, but you have another pitch and you have to get the job done. It just teaches guys in general that you just have to bear down a little bit more sometimes."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Time out: Giles appeared to have the eighth inning over when he threw a 0-2 pitch to Gomez, who swung and missed. But Ruiz's call for time kept the Brewers alive. Gomez followed with a single to left field to put runners on first and second. Aramis Ramirez then singled to score Ryan Braun to tie the game. Giles imploded at that point, walking Gerardo Parra in an 11-pitch at-bat and pinch-hitter Adam Lind to force in the go-ahead run. More >
Video: MIL@PHI: Lind draws a bases-loaded walk to take lead
"I think he knows what he did," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said about Giles. "He made a couple of bad pitches after that. But Kenny has done so well for us. He's going to be part of the future."
Phillies nearly answer: Lind stayed in the game to play first base and saved the Brewers' lead with his glove. Milwaukee reliever Jeremy Jeffress inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam and induced a double-play grounder to third base off the bat of Darin Ruf, with Lind making a terrific scoop of second baseman Scooter Gennett's one-hop relay throw.
Video: MIL@PHI: Brewers turn around-the-horn double play
"We made plays at the end," Counsell said. "The double play was huge. It was good all the way around, all three guys. Scooter with a nice turn, Adam with a nice pick, [Jeffress] getting the ground ball."
Runs in bunches: After smacking a go-ahead double as a pinch-hitter in Monday's series opener, Ramirez made it two two-run hits in as many at-bats when he singled up the middle against Hamels with two outs in the first inning for a 2-0 Brewers lead. When Ramirez singled home another run in the wild eighth, it gave him his third game with three-plus RBIs this season, just in time to boost his Trade Deadline value.
Video: MIL@PHI: Ramirez hits a ground-ball RBI single to tie
Hamels returns to form: If Hamels wants contending teams to step up to the plate to acquire him, he will need more nights like this before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. He allowed five hits, two runs, one walk and struck out seven in seven innings, putting a disappointing start last week against the Yankees (five runs in five innings) behind him. But once again, he did not get the win. He is winless since May 23.
QUOTABLE
"Teammates picked me up, dude. That was embarrassing." -- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who committed two more throwing errors Tuesday and has three in the first two games of the series. His errant throw in the ninth inning put the tying runner in scoring position with nobody out, but Francisco Rodriguez was able to convert his 17th save in as many chances
Video: MIL@PHI: Rodriguez whiffs Francoeur to earn the save
"It was awesome. I got to watch the soccer game." -- Hamels, on standing on the field waiting for the signal to begin his pregame warmups during a 1-hour, 19-minute rain delay. The Phillies played the World Cup semifinal between the U.S. and Germany on Phanavision
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Braun collected four more hits and boosted his lifetime average at Citizens Bank Park to .438 (42-for-96). The only player with a higher average in 40-plus at-bats here is Brewers teammate Lucroy, at .479 (23-for-48).
Video: MIL@PHI: Braun goes 4-for-5 and crosses dish twice
Ruiz homered for the first time since Sept. 5, 2014, in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. It snapped a run of 244 plate appearances without a home run.
WHAT'S NEXT
Brewers: Kyle Lohse will try to avoid being the second Brewers pitcher to 10 losses when he faces a former employer on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. CT. Lohse owns a 3.23 ERA in 15 career starts against the Phillies.
Phillies: Right-hander Aaron Harang hopes to improve his luck Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Brewers. He has lost seven consecutive starts from May 24 to June 26, posting a 6.05 ERA in that stretch.
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