Phils Defeated by Brewers, BABIP

BABIP is a fickle deity. A day after plating eleven runs, the Phillies were held to a single marker, in Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to Milwaukee. Philadelphia had a lot of hard-hit balls, but they just didn't seem to find holes. Some credit is also due Milwaukee starting pitcher Braden Looper (six scoreless), and the Brewers' bullpen (one run in three innings). It's a long season, and the Phillies won't be the better, or luckier, team every night. They need to put this loss behind them, and win the three-game series Thursday.

The Phillies' offense didn't have too many positives tonight. Jayson Werth hit a solo homer in the ninth, accounting for the only run. The Phils managed to get the tying run on base in the ninth, before Brewers reliever Todd Coffey whiffed pinch-hitter Chris Coste to end the game. Werth had a pair of hits, and Chase Utley had a single, and has now reached base in thirty-three consecutive games. That was pretty much it, as the Phillies' bats combined for a woeful -.509 WPA. As a result of the difficulties on offense, the Phils' WE was never higher than 16.7%, after the Brewers' two-run sixth inning.

Joe Blanton turned in a "quality" start for the Phils, allowing three runs in six innings. But he allowed eight hits and a walk, and only met the minimum requirements for a quality start. He threw one hundred and seven pitches, with only sixty-four for strikes. Blanton needs to do a better job conserving pitches, so he can go deeper into ballgames. The Brewers' bats have been struggling, for the most part, and Blanton should have trusted his stuff a bit more, and gone after the "weak links" in the opposing lineup. The Phils surrendered some good prospects to acquire Blanton, and, postseason success aside, it's reasonable to expect more from the alleged "innings-eater."

The Phillies will try to take the rubber game Thursday, as Cole Hamels makes his third start in an afternoon match-up. Hamels has, typically, performed much better in night games, but Monday's rain out pushed Hamels back a day to the matinee game. It might have been prudent to have had Hamels pitch Wednesday night, which would have been his fifth day. However, Hamels has indicated that he's "ready" now, having overcome his myriad offseason distractions. Considering that BABIP prays to Cole Hamels, the Brewers shouldn't pose much of a problem.