Phillies get eliminated 16 more times and are injured by Hoskins in the loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
MILWAUKEE — The Phillies could have scored the first goal of his list on Wednesday evening with a victory at Milwaukee but fell short in a thriller, losing 2-1 to end a potential playoff series preview against the Brewers.
The Phillies would have officially clinched a playoff spot if they had won the series finale, but the magic number remains one. The Phillies will get by with their next win or their next loss by The Mets or Braves.
Their next series is against the Mets — four games from Thursday to Sunday at Citi Field — giving the Phils a chance to also clinch their first NL East title since 2011 this weekend.
The Phillies scored in the second, the Brewers answered in the fifth with a Rhys Hoskins solo home run and walked in the ninth when Jake Bauer isolated Carlos Estevez after a Jackson Chourio triple starting point.
Aaron Nola did everything he could, allowing just three hits and one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. It was a terrific bounce-back performance after allowing 11 runs and four home runs in nine innings in his previous two starts.
Two of the three hits came from Hoskins, who doubled in the bottom of the second inning and hit a solo shot in the fifth. The Brewers have hit just two home runs in 54 innings against the Phillies this season, and both came from Hoskins — Wednesday against Nola and June 3 against Zack Wheeler.
The Phils went 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position in the series and struck out 38 times.
Alec Bohemia put them on the board with a one-out solo home run just over the wall in left-center field against. Freddy Peralta In the top of the third, a nice line drive on a slider down the middle. It was Bohm’s 14th home run, 90th RBI and first big hit since returning from the injured list Sunday.
But chances were few and far between after that against Peralta and the Brewers’ top-tier bullpen. The Phillies’ only hits after the second inning were singles in the top of the sixth and eighth innings by Trea Turner And Kyle Schwarber.
The best chance was the sixth when Bryce Harper followed Turner’s single with a walk after a long at-bat against the right-hander Joe Ross. The next hitter, Nick Castellanoswas eliminated on three pitches. The Phillies twice attempted a double steal with Bohm at bat, but he fouled off both pitches, so his eventual flyball to right-center advanced runners to second and third base rather than scoring. A groundout later, the Brewers were out of the inning.
The Phillies still accomplished one of their goals in Milwaukee by winning at least once to secure the tiebreaker. They are 91-61 with 10 games remaining – four at the Mets, three at the Cubs, three at the Cardinals. Nationals. The Phils lead the The Dodgers two games for first place in the playoff standings and are four points ahead of the Brewers.
They give the ball to Taijuan Walker for Thursday’s series opener against the Mets after three weeks out of the rotation.
