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PHILADELPHIA — Don’t be too surprised by what follows: The Milwaukee Brewers played another rocking part.
Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park marked the 11th time in 13 games that the Brewers had played a game within a run in the seventh inning or later. It was also the twelfth time in that span that a game had come within two runs.
The Cardiac Crew was at it again, doing what the Brewers had done in most of those close contests.
They have won.
William Contreras’ starting double with two outs in the seventh set gave the Brewers a 5-3 win, leveling a three-game streak with the Philadelphia Phillies with the finals scheduled for Thursday.
Milwaukee improved to 8-4 in those 12 hard-fought games and has won nine of 13 games overall.
“These are the games you play for. When the fans are there, you are there,” said Contreras. “Tight games, that’s what you play for. The intensity is high, you try to do your best. You keep in touch and help the man next to you. That’s what you’re playing for. That’s why you’re trying to have fun.” and get as many wins as possible, close or not.
“But the close ones are definitely a lot more fun.”
box scoreBrewers 5, Phillies 3
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Blake Perkins’ big goal opens the scoring
Left fielder Black Perkins, who struck base three times, scored the seventh-round winner with Contreras’ hustle double and has been involved in every Brewers run up to that point.
After Jahmai Jones made a mistake and Andruw Monasterio, who made it 2 for 4, hit a single, Perkins fired a two-run double into the left-center gap and gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the second.
Perkins, who had scored just one goal since July 1, then scored a brace from Christian Yelich.
Colin Rea makes a solid start
Brewers starting pitcher Colin Rea secured a 3-0 lead thanks to three runs in the second half, but couldn’t hold it. He received no help from his defense in this regard.
Rea conceded a home run against Nick Castellanos and led in the fourth round with a drive into the deep left corner to make it 3-1. Then a miscatch error by first baseman Owen Miller and a single later led to two runs in the fifth when Kyle Schwarber brought home both singles.
Rea’s last line was five innings, five hits, three runs, two runs earned, three strikeouts, and no walks.
“I really liked Colin,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “It was good to give him some time here with the All-Star break. We didn’t play great defense. I thought Owen probably could have had that ball. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to catch him and that started with an inning with two runs but (Rea) was batting really well.”
William Contreras comes through in every way
Contreras did everything for the Brewers.
He had three hits, including the go-ahead double in the seventh and another run-scoring two-bagger for an insurance run in the ninth, and delivered perhaps the most critical play of the night on defense to stop a Phillies rally against the To defeat Brewers nearer Devin Williams.
After Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott threw down bloop singles to put the runners on the corners with an out, Stott attempted to hit the second shot and put the crucial run into the points ranks. Contreras had other ideas and threw a laser straight at the money to put Brice Turang out in second.
“When you have days like this, you’re very grateful,” said Contreras. “Having the opportunity to contribute both offensively and defensively is a very special day. In the end, it’s all about getting the win.”
Williams knocked out Alec Bohm on the next throw and it was game over.
The Brewers’ deal to sign not only Contreras but also stand-in Joel Payamps, who played his 15th straight game without a goal on Wednesday with a perfect eighth inning, remains a robbery.
While Payamps has become a lockdown setup man this year, Contreras’ OPS sits at .809 and is second on the team behind only Yelich. Contreras has also drastically improved his defense and is considered one of the better defensive catchers in baseball.
“I’m definitely very happy with my defense this year,” said Contreras. “It’s a big change from last year to this year so I’m very happy with what I’ve done. But like I said, we still have more than two months of the season ahead of us, so you still have to keep working and keep finding ways to get better.
Next
The Brewers (53-43) end the three-game streak with the Phillies starting Thursday at 11:35 a.m.
Who is injured?:Milwaukee Brewers player injury updates for the 2023 season