Phillies Squander Early Lead and Fall 5-3 to Milwaukee

A hectic fifth inning breaks the Philadelphia Phillies' early lead as they drop a game to the Milwaukee Brewers.

John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies drop game two of their series against the Brewers, 5-3, as Zack Wheeler takes his third consecutive loss of the season.

A disastrous fifth inning by Wheeler and the Phillies defense pushed the Brewers ahead to a 4-3 lead. Wheeler gave up four runs on five hits in the inning and spoiled his otherwise great outing.

The final run of that inning came on an under throw by JT Realmuto to catch Christian Yelich stealing second base. The ball rolled into center field and granted Willy Adames an easy opportunity to score from third. 

Brewers score four runs in the fifth including a run on this attention grabbing steal by Christian Yelich. 4-3 Brewers lead.
https://t.co/OC1AQBTEtP

— Inside the Phillies (@InsidePhilsFN) April 23, 2022

Wheeler gave up just two base runners in the first four innings of the game while showcasing an average 4-seam fastball velocity of 95.9 mph, almost a full 1.5 mph faster than his previous start. 

Regardless of the end result, Wheeler did look much sharper compared to his first two starts. It appears as though he just ran out of gas in that fifth inning, something that will be fixed when he gets more usage this season. 

Despite their early surge, picking up three runs in the first three innings, the Phillies offense was dormant for the final six innings of the game picking up just three hits in that span.

Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with back-to-back doubles in the first.

The team would then add to that lead in the third thanks to an Odubel Herrera lead-off triple that resulted in a score on a misplayed pop fly into shallow right field off the bat of Jean Segura. Segura would later score courtesy of a Castellanos sac-fly.

That would be the last time the Phillies offense contributed to a scoreboard change and it was all Brewers from there on.

The Phillies fall to a 6-9 record and are desperate to find their groove on both sides of the ball. They will have another opportunity on Sunday in their final game of the series against Milwaukee.

Aaron Nola is set to take the mound for the Phillies while the Brewers are sending out Eric Lauer for the start. First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 pm at Citizens Bank Park. 

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