Milwaukee Brewers: 250 Words or Less: 9/9/11

Another game, another dud.

The Milwaukee Brewers made it interesting in the end but still fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3, their 5th consecutive loss at home.

The Crew brought the tying run to the plate twice in the 9th inning but only cut a 5-1 deficit into the final margin.

Shaun Marcum was borderline disappointing in a near 7 inning outing. He put one pitch too high to Ryan Howard, who belted it into the seats for a 1st inning 3-0 lead. To Marcum’s credit he was able to regain himself, surviving into the 7th before another collapse took him from the game.

The early disadvantage in the scoreboard made it tough for the Brewers who already had the difficult task of facing Philly’s ace Roy Halladay. It wasn’t until his relief came in that the Brewers could string together anything remotely consistent.

Nyjer Morgan went 0-4 on his official Rally Towel giveaway night. The view from the top row at Miller Park was great when he came to bat, a sellout crowd waving the white towels, trying not to look like they were surrendering. They keep packing in the seats, hoping for a turnaround in fortunes.

The Phillies are that good, yes, but two things need to happen for Milwaukee: a return to quality pitching, and a return of Rickie Weeks. The offense has been terribly subpar lately, rolling-back all the hard work they did in his absence. He’d ideally be the big spark they need.

The Crew will try at it again, sending Randy Wolf to face (yet another) Philly ace Cliff Lee. First pitch is 6:10.

Tags: 250 Words, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Randy Wolf, Shaun Marcum