Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Game 4 – Post Game Analysis
The Milwaukee Brewers edged past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Sunday, September 11 to bag a consolation win in the fourth game of the four-game series at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Phillies humiliated the Brewers in the first-three games of the series to win a crucial series as the playoffs approach. The visitors had made good work of the Brewers before Yovani Gallardo made the fullest of his start to restrict the Phillies to just
two runs in seven innings to improve his earned-run average to 3.66 for the season. Gallardo’s performance earned him his 16th win of the season, raising his responsibility to perform well in the postseason.
"They have a tough team, we all know that," Gallardo said. However, this win gave them hope that their team can compete with the National League stalwarts if they go head-on with the Phillies in the Divisional or the Championship series.
Rickie Weeks made a solid comeback for the Brewers as he scored a run to get some confidence before the team enters the tougher stage in a few weeks. He scored in the second inning to give the home side a one-run advantage over the Phillies, helped by Jonathan
Lucroy’s RBI.
However, Weeks could not last long in this game and had to leave in the fourth inning when he was hit by a Vance Worley pitch in the fourth inning. Worley was decent in his spell of 6.2 innings for the Phillies but he was charged for three runs and eight
hits and thus failed to prevent his second loss this season with 11 wins already to his credit so far.
The Phillies made a strong reply in the sixth inning to first eradicate and then impose a one-run lead on the Brewers to re-ignite the game. Shane Victorino first hammered one down right-field to level the score before Ryan Howard connected one in the same
direction to bring the Phillies inches closer of completing the four-game series whitewash.
Gallardo was removed after this battering and Francisco Rodriguez then did a good job as a reliever, pitching a perfect eighth inning after the Brewers had taken the lead in the seventh inning.
Corey Hart scored the equaliser for the Brewers on Nyjer Morgan’s double down right-field before Ryan Braun drove in a run in the same inning, allowing Morgan to complete his run and regain the one-run advantage over the already-victorious Philadelphia side.
John Axford pitched a perfect inning at the depth yet again to improve his tally of saves to 42 this season. He has hardly dropped a chance till now and is expected to play a crucial part in the postseason where both teams are likely to clash again.
After the game, Axford was relieved to finally win a game in a series which has been tough for them. He said, "It's huge. It'd been a frustrating series so far. Today, it seemed a little that way, too, frustrating at times toward the end of the game, but
we kept fighting."
The Phillies, however, were not so disappointed on this loss and had a lot to gain from the game. Worley’s form was their foremost gain from this game. They have a strong rotation and they will now be itching to select a final list of pitchers who will feature
in the playoffs.
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