The Phillies hope veteran right-hander Aaron Nola will continue his career-long success against the host Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday as Philadelphia sets out to clinch the three-game series between division leaders.
Nola (3-7, 6.47 ERA) will be opposed by left-hander Jose Quintana (10-5, 3.69 ERA). Nola has dominated the Brewers since 2016, going 7-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 14 starts.
Both teams had a rare day off Tuesday after the Phillies rallied to win the series opener 10-8 on Monday before a sellout crowd. Philadelphia, which was swept at home by the Brewers in late May, trailed 5-1 after four innings.
The Phillies went up 8-6 with two runs in the eighth, only to see the Brewers rally to tie it in the bottom half. Brandon Marsh singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth off Abner Uribe.
Both teams went deep into their bullpen, with each using six relievers.
“It was a huge game for us, coming in and taking one in this atmosphere, in this ballpark,” Marsh said. “We’ve just got carry that momentum into Wednesday.”
Milwaukee, which has the best record in baseball at 85-54, entered the off day with a 5 1/2-game lead in the National League Central over the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies, who have the second-best record in the league at 80-58, led the Mets by six games in the NL East.
The Brewers, who just completed a stretch of 19 games in 18 days, need to win one of the two remaining games in the series to clinch the tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia.
“I’m disappointed about today, but you’ve got to credit the Phillies,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Monday’s game. “They’ve got a great club and we swept them (in Philadelphia), and they remember it.”
Nola, who missed three months with a sprained ankle, will be making his fourth start since coming off the injured list in mid-August. He is 2-0 since then, despite allowing 13 runs (12 earned) in 14 1/3 innings.
In his last start, Nola gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in six innings, but he got the win in a 19-4 rout of Atlanta in a 95-pitch outing.
Marsh, who had four hits in Monday’s win, is hitting .343 over his last 34 games with five homers, eight doubles and 10 RBIs.
Quintana was 3-1 with a 4.18 ERA in six starts in August. He struggled his last time out Thursday, when he allowed six runs on five hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings and took the loss in a 6-4 defeat against Arizona.
Quintana is 1-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 13 career starts against Philadelphia, including a no-decision this season in early June. He gave up two runs in five innings in a 5-2 Brewers road victory.
Uribe, who has moved into the closer role with Trevor Megill on the injured list, had his streak of not allowing an earned run snapped at 19 games, dating back to July 12.
–Field Level Media
