Entering this final week of play in the regular season, the biggest question for the Brewers is, “What is their plan for the rotation and the bullpen?”
So often tonight, we heard Jeff Levering and Bill Schroeder talk about this, and from the fourth inning on, the Brewers looked to have found their answer. But was Colton Gordon’s Brewers debut enough to sway the decision-makers for a spot on the playoff roster? Five innings of two-run ball on four hits, when most of that didn’t come until the bottom
of the eighth inning, feels like he’d be worthy of a spot.
Pat Murphy gave us a taste of what is likely more to come in the pitching situations, especially during the postseason, as Dustin May threw the first two innings of the game. His outing wasn’t kind to him yet again, as he allowed a Brandon Marsh two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning.
Marsh’s home run came off the coat tails of Zach Wheeler striking out the first six Brewers of the game; after his third, it notched his 2,000th career strikeout. Following the home run from Marsh, Wheeler extended his strikeout streak to seven by cutting down Luis Lara to open the top of the third inning.
The Phillies put together a two-out rally, and with two on and two out, Alec Bohn smacked his 29th double to drive in their third run of the game to extend their lead to 3-0.
With Wheeler in complete control, the Crew needed to put together one of their signature innings, but before they could get there, they used a Garrett Mitchell lead-off single. Brice Turang followed with a single by himself, which set up William Contreras to drive in the Brewers’ first run of the game to make it 3-1.
Kyle Harrison made his first appearance coming out of the bullpen this evening, throwing just one inning where he allowed a run on three hits, striking out one. Even in a short spurt, Harrison didn’t look comfortable, continuing to raise concerns as a reliable arm in the postseason.
After Harrison’s departure, that made way for Gordon to make his first appearance in a Brewers uniform, and what an unexpected outing the Brewers received. With the exception of Cooper Pratt’s fielding error, Gordon was flawless, retiring the Phillies in order. His showing allowed the offense to find their groove in the top of the sixth. A single from David Hamilton and a walk from Jackson Chourio set up the Crew for a productive inning. Contreras drove in both runners with a base hit into left field to tie the game at 3-3.
Then the bottom of the eighth inning happened, raising another question of whether Gordon should’ve faced this lineup a second time through. Arguably, Gordon was able to get Trea Turner and Bryce Harper out quickly to begin the bottom of the eighth inning. Back-to-back hits from Luis Arraez and Alec Bohm singled with two outs. Bryson Stott made it three straight singles to make it 5-3 Phillies. Marsh came through with the hammer as he doubled to center field to drive in their final run of the evening to make it 6-3.
The Crew didn’t put up much of a fight in the top of the ninth as Contreras and Jake Bauers struck out to open the inning. Extending the game was Christian Yelich, who walked and then scored on a Lara base hit to make it 6-4.
Yes, the Brewers offense looked bleak tonight, and the defense made some unusual throws, but they did face a consistent Cy Young Award-caliber player. Despite the loss, good news came out of Atlanta as the Braves lost to the Reds to give the Brewers a first-round bye.
Tomorrow night, they’ll face the right-hander Aaron Nola, as Logan Henderson will take the mound for the final time this season. The Crew still needs two more wins for 100, but has five games left to go with good arms yet to throw this week.
