Lucroy does it all in four-hit game vs. Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy continued a sensational stretch in the field and hoped he began one at the plate in Monday's 7-4 win over the Phillies.

Atoning for a run-scoring error in the first inning, Lucroy threw out another would-be basestealer as part of a strikeout-throwout double play to end the sixth and tallied a season-high four hits.

"That was kind of vintage Lucroy today," manager Craig Counsell said.

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Lucroy has thrown out 10 of the last 20 runners who have attempted to steal. Limiting opponents' freedom on the baspaths has been a focus of Brewers coaches since before the team changed managers, Counsell said, and the results have been evident since Lucroy returned from a stint on the disabled list.

"'Luc deserves a bulk of the credit, for sure. A lot goes into it, though," Counsell said. "It's on the pitcher, [Bench coach] Jerry [Narron] is helping out with how we're controlling step-offs, holds, pickoffs, all to disrupt that runner's timing. And then Luc executing throws, and even [shortstop] Jean [Segura] has made some nice tags lately, too.

"We've had a couple games the past week, week and a half, where we've gotten an inning's worth of outs on the bases. That's important. That makes a difference. It gets your pitcher another inning, maybe. It squashes some rallies. It helps you win games."

At the plate, Lucroy remains a work in progress. He was off to a terrible start before spending more than five weeks on the DL with a fractured left big toe, and is hitting .279 (29-for-104) since returning to the lineup, with only one home run and 12 RBIs.

"I've been battling, dude," Lucroy said. "It's just been a battle. I've been lining out a lot. I looked at my numbers the other day and I calculated that if all of my lineouts would have fell, I would be hitting over .320. That's just the way it goes. I know the power numbers aren't there, but that will come."