Brewers bullpen allows four home runs in abysmal performance.
The Brewers have been struggling mightily recently, having lost their last five games heading into Thursday’s series finale against Philadelphia, and this trend didn’t change. The Brewers’ offense has been a real problem as of late, as the hitters at the plate can’t seem to produce much of anything right now. The pitching hasn’t been great either, as Milwaukee continues to give up lots of runs, which puts more pressure on the offense to produce. Corbin Burnes was on the mound in the finale against Phillies starter Zach Eflin.
Milwaukee was able to take the lead early, when Willy Adames, who just returned from injury, smashed a solo home run off the batter’s eye in dead center field. The Phillies would tie up the game in the top of the second, as Stott hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Castellanos.
Both pitchers would continue their stalemate until Burnes was pulled in the fifth inning with only one out. Miguel Sanchez was brought in as his replacement and immediately gave up two runs, giving Philly a 3-1 advantage.
Hunter Renfroe would get on the scoresheet in the bottom of the sixth, as he hit a solo home run to bring the Brewers within a run. Boxberger was brought in to pitch the seventh and gave that run back immediately after a lead-off home run from Bryce Harper. Philadelphia went into the eighth with a 4-2 lead.
Trevor Kelley pitched the eighth for the Crew and followed the recent trend of bad bullpen outings as he also gave up a home run, this time for two runs off the bat of Kyle Schwarber. Kelley would also pitch the ninth, and do the same exact thing he did in the previous half-inning, this time allowing a two-run blast to Herrera. This gave the Phillies an 8-2 advantage heading into the final half-inning.
Milwaukee tried to get a rally going, but the way the offense has played recently, it wasn’t a possibility. McCutchen did drive in Yelich off an RBI single, but the inning ended and so did the game, with the Brewers losing 8-3.
The Brewers will hope to get back in the win column on Friday as they head to Washington for a three-game series with the Nationals. They will then be in New York to face the Mets next week. Aaron Ashby will be on the mound Friday for the Crew taking on Erick Fedde for the Nats. The first pitch will be at 6:05 CDT on Bally Sports Wisconsin and 620 WTMJ.