MILWAUKEE (AP) — Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto hit back-to-back homers to open the seventh inning and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Sunday to avoid being swept despite getting held hitless until the sixth.
Wade Miley silenced the Phillies for much of the day as the Brewers built a 2-0 lead. He didn’t allow a hit until Trea Turner delivered a shot that went off the glove of third baseman Andruw Monasterio and headed into left field for a two-out single in the sixth. Nick Castellanos followed that with an RBI double.
Miley (7-4) had thrown only 74 pitches through the first six innings and came back out for the seventh. The Phillies — who dropped their previous two games to the Brewers, both 7-5 losses — capitalized.
Bohm led off the inning by sending a 2-1 changeup over the wall in left center. Realmuto followed with a 443-foot drive to center off a 1-0 cutter as he homered for a second straight game.
Miley struck out Bryson Stott but walked Cristian Pache before leaving the game. Turner added a two-out RBI single that extended Philadelphia’s lead to 4-2.
Although he collected two hits, Turner failed to homer Sunday after going deep in five consecutive games to tie a Phillies franchise record.
The Brewers nearly pulled back ahead in the bottom of the seventh.
Phillies reliever Matt Strahm walked Owen Miller and Mark Canha to start the inning. William Contreras then hit a fly ball that Pache caught on the center-field warning track. Strahm ended the threat by striking out Carlos Santana and retiring Willy Adames on a pop to first.
Contreras and Canha hit solo homers for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who were seeking to sweep the Phillies for the first time since August 2015. Contreras’ 410-foot shot to center in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Canha led off the third with a drive that barely cleared the right-field wall.
The Brewers had a chance to extend their lead later in the third, but Ranger Suárez struck out Victor Caratini with the bases loaded to end the threat. Milwaukee went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
Both of Milwaukee’s homers came off Suárez, who was activated from the injured list this weekend after recovering from a strained right hamstring.
Suárez worked four innings and struck out five while allowing five hits, two runs and two walks in his first appearance since Aug. 13.
Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Domínguez (4-3), Strahm, José Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel combined for five innings of scoreless relief. Kimbrel worked around a one-out single to earn his 22nd save in 25 opportunities for the Phillies, who currently are in first place in a crowded NL wild-card race.
Miley allowed four runs, four hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings, which represented his second-longest start of the season. He struck out two.
UP NEXT
Phillies: Open a three-game series at San Diego on Monday. The scheduled starting pitchers are RHP Taijuan Walker (14-5, 4.05 ERA) for the Phillies and LHP Rich Hill (0-3, 8.50) for the Padres.
Brewers: Begin a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Monday. RHP Corbin Burnes (9-7, 3.55) will be pitching for the Brewers.
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