September 16 – After winning a two-game road series, the Milwaukee Brewers face the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series beginning on Monday night and hope to clinch the National League Central title at home.
Right-hander Aaron Civale (6-8, 4.57 ERA) starts for Milwaukee against left-hander Ranger Suarez (12-6, 3.05).
Milwaukee’s magic number in the NL Central is three runs after losing to Arizona State 11-10 in ten innings on Sunday. Three runs scored in the 11th inning.
Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio had his 21st homer and five RBIs, while Willy Adames had a double and was just four RBIs shy of tying shortstop Robin Young’s franchise record (113 points).
Milwaukee (86-63) leads the Cubs (76-73) by 10 games and the Cubs beat Colorado 6-2 on Sunday. The Brewers return home for a seven-game homestand after winning two of three in San Francisco and two of three in Arizona.
“It’s been a very special year for me and the team,” Adams said in a postgame interview with Bally’s Sports Wisconsin on Saturday. “I think we have a special group of guys and it’s been a great journey this year. We had some tough moments, but we found a way to overcome them and just make some runs and have some fun.”
The Phillies beat the Mets 2-1 on Sunday on JT Realmuto’s second-out single in the ninth inning. Christopher Sanchez allowed one run — a solo home run — while walking one and striking out seven in seven-plus innings.
“Our guys are going to keep moving forward,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Sunday. “They’re veterans, I mean the club is full of veterans and they know it’s a long year and tomorrow is a new day and you just have to bring it and follow them.”
Philadelphia (90-59) is two games ahead of the Dodgers with the best record in the National League. Milwaukee is third, two games behind Los Angeles. The top two teams will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Civale, acquired from Tampa Bay in early July, will make his 12th start for Milwaukee. Civale went 2-6 with a 5.07 ERA with the Rays, but went 4-2 with a 3.84 ERA with the Brewers.
Civale is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA in his last six starts. In his last outing, he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 3-2 win over San Francisco. He had never faced the Phillies.
Suarez is 2-4 with a 5.30 ERA in his last seven starts, allowing 43 hits in 35 2/3 innings. He has a 2-1 record in his last four starts since returning from the injured list (lower back soreness) on Aug. 24.
In three career games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Suarez has a 0–0 record and an ERA of 2.87.
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