Brewers 9, Phillies 0
Back in the ballpark where he used to be an ace, Randy Wolf shut
down his former team and outpitched the reigning NL Cy Young Award
winner.
Wolf tossed six crisp innings, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee
homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Roy Halladay and the
Philadelphia Phillies 9-0 Tuesday night.
The Brewers became the first team to win a series against the NL
East-leading Phillies this season. They’ll try to complete a
three-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon when Cliff Lee takes the
mound for Philadelphia.
Wolf (2-2) allowed two hits, struck out five and walked three
against his former team. The left-hander had his best seasons with
Philadelphia in the early 2000s, and was an All-Star in ’03.
”It was tough early on. I didn’t have my best stuff,” Wolf
said. ”I tried to mix speeds a lot and I think I kept them off
balance.”
Jimmy Rollins had a bunt single in the first and Shane Victorino
hit a double in the third for the Phillies’ only hits of the
game.
Sean Green, Zach Braddock and Mike McClendon each pitched an
inning after Wolf left.
”I had really good defense behind me,” Wolf said. ”They’re a
dangerous team. You don’t want to let them get something
going.”
Halladay (2-1) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings. It
was his worst start since he allowed six runs in six innings in a
loss at the New York Yankees last June 15.
Halladay tossed a complete game at Washington last Wednesday,
needing 123 pitches to do it. He got an extra day rest because of a
rainout, but still wasn’t as sharp as usual.
”I felt good. There were times early when there were a couple
pitches that cost me that weren’t where I wanted them,” Halladay
said.
Halladay retired the first two batters in the second before
running into trouble against the bottom of the lineup. Yuniesky
Betancourt doubled to deep right-center. With the pitcher on deck,
Halladay fell behind in the count 3-1 to George Kottaras before
grooving a fastball. Kottaras ripped an RBI single to right for a
1-0 lead.
The Brewers got another two-out run in the third when Braun hit
an opposite-field shot to right.
Braun then made an outstanding play in the bottom half to rob
Rollins of extra bases and save at least one run. With runners on
first and second, Rollins hit a drive to deep left. Braun made a
leaping, backhanded grab at the warning track after a long run.
”We were gonna score some runs there,” Phillies manager
Charlie Manuel said. ”He made a tremendous catch.”
Braun got things started in the sixth with a walk. He moved to
second on Prince Fielder’s single and scored on Mark Kotsay’s
one-out single.
Fielder chased Halladay with an RBI single that extended
Milwaukee’s lead to 4-0. David Herndon entered and allowed
McGehee’s three-run shot.
”He’s the best pitcher in baseball and we put together some
good at-bats against him,” Braun said of Halladay. ”You don’t
want to get behind. You try to be patient, but not overly
patient.”
NOTES: The Brewers have four shutouts among their nine wins. …
A crowd of 45,408 was the 146th consecutive sellout at Citizens
Bank Park, including postseason play. … The Phillies placed LHP
J.C. Romero on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right
calf. Lefty Mike Zagurski was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
… Brewers CF Carlos Gomez robbed Carlos Ruiz of extra bases in
the second with a running catch on a drive to deep right-center.
… Braun is 9 for 19 in his last five games, and has reached
safely in all 17 games. … Fielder was 3 for 4 off Halladay and is
6 for 10 against him. … Halladay’s ERA rose from 1.23 to
2.83.