Philadelphia Phillies shock Brewers, win second straight comeback

Who let the Philadelphia Phillies get hot? Philadelphia has now won five in a row, four of which with interim manager Rob Thomson at the helm. Against the central leading Milwaukee Brewers, the Phillies came into Wisconsin knowing a tough battle was ahead of them.

Ranger Suarez took the mound for the Phillies last night and had a performance reminiscent of last season as he went seven innings with only two earned runs, striking out five. Despite this solid outing by Suarez, the Phillies found themselves down late as the offense had difficulting taking advantage of the runners they were able to get on base.

Come the bottom of the ninth; it was time to put up or shut up, as Alec Bohm would lead off the inning for the Phillies. Facing Bohm was the Brewers’ elite closer, Josh Hader. Just how elite is Hader? Well, coming into last night’s game, the three-time All-Star had a scoreless inning streak of 40, which tied Houston Astros Reliever Ryan Pressly for the longest streak of all time. This streak was not meant to last, however, as this Phillies team would not go quietly into the night.

The Philadelphia Phillies ended Josh Hader’s historic scoreless streak with near back-to-back homers.

Alec Bohm facing the giant that is Josh Hader while in the Lion’s den that is Milwaukee came in clutch when his team needed him most. Bohm would smash a sinker 426 feet into deep left-center field that not only ended Hader’s scoreless streak but also his perfect save record this season – 18 for 18 before this game. After Bohm, rookie sensation Bryson Stott would come to the plate though he would fly out after only two pitches.

This would normally bring up Mickey Moniak but considering the lefty on lefty matchup that would cause, interim manager Rob Thomson opted instead to bring in Matt Vierling. A move that would help seal this game. Vierling, who was recalled that same day, walked to the plate against Hader and, after a five-pitch battle, took his 416 feet deep to the same left-center field just as Alec Bohm had a short while previous.

Corey Knebel would go on to record the save in the bottom of the ninth – although he walked three batters – and the Philadelphia Phillies would take game one in Milwaukee. After sweeping the Angels, this series against an apparent contender was thought to serve as the team’s first true test under Rob Thomson. Well, one game in, and things are looking great so far in Philadelphia; now they just have to keep it up for game two tonight at 8:10 pm EST.