Phillies leave seven baserunners stranded as Brewers take series opener

MILWAUKEE — In Monday’s heavyweight battle between two of the top teams in the National League, the Phillies had their chances to jump on the Brewers and shrink that magic number even further in the process.

The Phillies outhit Milwaukee, 11-8, but left seven men on and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. The missed opportunities piled up, sinking the Phillies, 6-2, in the series opener.

Baserunning miscues hurt the offense. In the third inning, Cal Stevenson was thrown out attempting to run from first to third on a Trea Turner single. Turner then jumped too early trying to steal second, and was easily caught by Milwaukee pitcher Aaron Civale. The Phillies also grounded into two double plays.

Starting pitcher Ranger Suárez allowed three runs. His fastball velocity was around the same as his previous outing, his four-seam averaging 91.4 mph and sinker averaging 90.2 mph. But he utilized his changeup more often and limited Milwaukee to four hits, rebounding well from the career-high 12 hits he allowed against the Rays.

However, Suárez fell behind in counts often and issued three walks, which hurt his efficiency. Suárez’s 104 pitches were the most he’s thrown since May 21, and lasted just five innings. Suárez has not finished six innings in his last six starts.

Suárez stumbled coming off the mound to field a ball in the fourth inning, and appeared to roll his ankle. He was checked out by trainers and, after throwing a few test pitches, remained in the game. He struck out the next batter swinging and then pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, his only such inning of the game.

The Brewers struck first, stringing together a walk, single, and double to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the third. Former Phillie Rhys Hoskins tacked on another run an inning later, scoring from third on a sacrifice fly.

José Alvarado took over for Suárez in the sixth inning, and allowed his first runs since his return from the restricted list. Joey Ortiz got ahold of Alvarado’s cutter and sent it into the right-center gap for an RBI triple. Ortiz was then driven home by a single from nine-hole hitter Brice Turang.

Brandon Marsh put the Phillies on the board in the fifth with a solo home run to left field. They added another run in the seventh, after leading off the inning with a Bryson Stott single and J.T. Realmuto being hit by pitch. With two strikes, Schwarber bit on a sinker outside, but made just enough contact to poke it through the left side of the infield and cash in Stott. That was the extent of the offense’s scoring.

The Brewers stole three bases — including two by Blake Perkins — on J.T. Realmuto and Tanner Banks in the seventh inning. After stealing third, Perkins scored on a sacrifice fly.