Domonic Brown heat check: still hot.
The breakout season continued in Milwaukee on Saturday night, as Brown went 2-for-4 and drove in all three of the Phillies’ runs. Dom rocked a solo homer in the second inning to extend his National League lead to 19, then later shot a clutch two-run double into opposite field during the seventh.
It wasn't enough though. The Brewers managed to score one more than the Fightins for the second night in a row, eking out the 4-3 victory and dropping Philadelphia back below .500 in the process.
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Brown extended his streak of reaching base safely to 13 consecutive games. He’s also crossed home plate in each of the last nine. His batting average has increased to .293, and his slugging percentage surpassed .600, now up to .604.
But he still could’ve used a little more help in the losing effort.
Michael Young, Kevin Frandsen, and Jimmy Rollins all had multi-hit games at the top of the order, but Delmon Young posted an O-fer in front of Brown in the cleanup spot. The rest of the lineup combined for one base hit, this in nine innings against Milwaukee relief pitching.
Kyle Kendrick was the pitcher of record for the Phils, allowing three scores over six frames. Michael Stutes was a little wild in the seventh, eventually surrendering what wound up being a decisive insurance run.
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In other bad news, Erik Kratz injured his knee while running out a ground ball in the ninth inning. He was said to be on crutches after the game, and according to reports the catcher heard a pop. Tough blow even with Carlos Ruiz on the comeback trail, as Kratz was quietly putting together a nice season. More as we hear it.
It’s been troubling watching the Phillies struggle to beat the Brewers, who have taken four of six in the season series – all in the past nine days – heading into the final meeting on Sunday. Milwaukee has won one tilt in their last nine versus any other opponent, posting a 24-37 record for the year.
You can’t help but notice what a huge missed opportunity it truly is when you look at what Brown has done to the Brew Crew. Dom is 11-for-21 with seven runs, four bombs, 11 RBI, four walks, and three stolen bases against Milwaukee.
He’s a one-man wrecking crew. And that’s not gonna get it done.
>> BOX SCORE [ESPN]