For the second straight night, the Phillies had an opportunity to close in on a playoff spot. And for the second straight night, the Phillies laid an egg instead.
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A stagnant offense and yet another late bullpen collapse doomed them in a 5-1 loss to the Brewers on Thursday night. Milwaukee secured its 100th win of the season, setting a franchise record at the expense of the Phillies. The magic number remains at 2.
The Phillies will enter their final series of the regular season against the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays without having officially secured a playoff spot. But with three games left to play, they still control their own destiny.
“We’re in the driver’s seat, so we’ve got to win and take care of our business,” said Bryce Harper. “We can’t really worry about any other teams or what they’re doing, so just got to keep going.”
But just as pressing for the club is the health of second baseman Luis Arraez, who departed the game in the sixth inning with a sprained left ankle. Arraez twisted it trying to dodge the tag at first base, and was unable to put weight on his foot as he was helped off the field. The Phillies said X-rays were negative and that Arraez will be evaluated further.
“We’ll know more tomorrow. I know they’ll treat him tonight. See what happens,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “See how he walks in tomorrow. … I’m hopeful that he can play. But we’ll see.”
Edmundo Sosa took over at third base on Thursday, with Bryson Stott sliding back to second base. Mattingly said the team would consider all their infield options if Arraez is unable to play. That could include Sosa filling in, or reverting to their pre-trade deadline infield with Harper returning to first.
“I think it’s the next man up mentality,” Harper said. “Sosa has been great for us all year, so if he’s in the lineup, obviously he’s going to be our guy.”
Andrew Painter finished what figures to be his final start of the regular season on a strong note, holding the Brewers to one run over six innings. His changeup was electric, generating 10 whiffs and accounting for six of his eight strikeouts.
“I think I just put it in good spots,” Painter said of his changeup. “I kept the ball down, and the misses were down or arm side, so nothing really over the plate. That’s where the damage has been done in the past.”
The right-hander lowered his second-half ERA to 3.65, after putting up a 7.08 marker in the first half. It was an up-and-down season for him overall, as Painter found himself back in triple A in June after extended struggles with his fastball and his command.
But the rookie managed to right the ship, and now figures to play a key part in the Phillies’ postseason plans — should they get there — even if those plans aren’t concrete yet.
“I know the bullpen’s a possibility,” Painter said. “Haven’t been told that 100% yet.”
Painter let the leadoff man aboard in every inning save for the first and sixth, but the only time it came back to bite him was the leadoff walk to Gary Sánchez in the second. Consecutive hits — a soft grounder to the mound followed by a line drive that just snuck fair — brought in a run, though Painter ended the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
Mattingly thinks the adversity Painter went through, with his early struggles, June demotion, mid-season changes to his mechanics, and then his return to the majors, made him a stronger pitcher. And on Thursday, in a game with playoff-like stakes against a playoff-caliber lineup, he proved he could step up.
“Paint’s legit,” Mattingly said. “I think Philadelphia’s going to like this kid for a while.”
The Brewers used five different arms on the mound, but the Phillies couldn’t do much damage against any of them. They scored their only run in the third against lefty Shane Drohan. Kyle Schwarber ripped a double, and came home on an opposite-field line drive single from Harper.
But after that, a Schwarber single in the seventh was the only hit the Phillies mustered for the rest of the game. Bryson Stott drew a walk in the ninth, but they failed to advance him past first.
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It wasn’t for lack of hard contact. Phillies hitters clocked exit velocities higher than 95 mph 13 different times, but only three of those fell for hits. The Brewers, on the other hand, had eight balls harder than 95 mph, five of which were hits.
“At times this year, it feels it feels like that’s happened to us quite a bit,” said Trea Turner, who had a 107.4 mph groundout. “Last night we lined out a few times. Today again. That’s I think the frustrating part, where it feels like you go up there and tell yourself you had a good at-bat, you did what you could, but then you want to change something to try to get a little bit more production.”
Reliever Alex McFarlane came up big in the seventh, continuing to prove himself in leverage spots. After walking the first two batters he faced, the righty rebounded to strike out the next three to keep the game tied at 1-1.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto helped him out with the first one, using an automated ball-strike challenge to flip ball three to strike three. McFarlane then struck out consecutive lefties: Garrett Mitchell looking on a sinker and Brice Turang swinging on a four-seam.
“Mac took a little bit to get going, but after that he was really good,” Mattingly said. “Got in a little bit of trouble with the walks early, and then got out of it.”
The Brewers took the lead against José Alvarado in the eighth inning, as he struggled to command his pitches. Alvarado allowed a leadoff walk and two singles before recording an out as Milwaukee jumped ahead, 2-1. He was lifted for Chase Shugart, departing to loud boos, and the right-hander gave up two base hits up the middle to pad Milwaukee’s lead.
On a somewhat chilly night in South Philly, Alvarado’s velocity was down a few ticks, averaging 96 mph when it has usually sat at 97.9 this season. The pitch only got one whiff.
“Alvy’s been really good,” Mattingly said when asked if the down velocity was a concern. “We didn’t go into the game feeling like anything was wrong with those guys.”
Jackson Chourio homered off Tim Mayza in the ninth for good measure, as a familiar bullpen problem reared is head for the Phillies.
Time is running out on the regular season. But the Phillies will have another chance Friday to cut down the magic number with Cristopher Sánchez on the mound against Tampa.
“We should be feeling some pressure,” Mattingly said. “I know I feel some pressure, but I mean, it’s that time of year, and you’re trying to win games.”
Let’s talk about the Phillies’ bullpen. Larry Andersen happens to be an expert on the subject. The popular Phillies radio analyst had a 17-year major-league career in which he appeared in 699 games – all but one in relief. He joins Phillies Extra to break down the biggest question standing between the Phillies and a long run through October: How will they bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran? Watch here.
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