Brewers at Phillies
Ryan Braun returned from a three-game absence due to a tight hamstring to once again put the squeeze on the Philadelphia Phillies. Braun will bid to power the visiting Milwaukee Brewers to back-to-back wins on Wednesday night in the third contest of the four-game series against the Phillies.
Braun belted a two-run shot as Milwaukee snapped a three-game skid with a 6-1 victory on Tuesday, boosting his home run total to 14 to go along with a .406 batting average and 43 RBIs in 36 career contests at Citizens Bank Park. Celebrated prospect Keston Hiura collected two hits in his major league debut before making his first out on a sliding catch by Bryce Harper in the sixth inning that left the former National League Most Valuable Player with a bit of a limp. Undaunted, Harper ended the frame with another sliding catch for his third defensive gem of the series, although his offensive numbers have tumbled to the point that he is leading the majors with 56 strikeouts -- including 20 multi-strikeout performances. "I don't love strikeouts offensively, but I think strikeouts -- when they're balanced out with a high walk rate -- are OK," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said of Harper, who reportedly was nursing a sore knee after Tuesday's game.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers LH Gio Gonzalez (1-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Jake Arrieta (4-3, 3.78)
Gonzalez pieced together his third strong outing since agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract with Milwaukee, scattering two hits over 5 2/3 innings of a 7-0 victory at the Chicago Cubs on Friday. The Phillies are very familiar to the 33-year-old, who spent parts of seven seasons with NL East-rival Washington. Jean Segura (8-for-15) has flustered Gonzalez, although the hurler has done the same to Rhys Hoskins (0-for-9, four strikeouts) and Maikel Franco (1-for-24).
Arrieta admitted to making three mistakes in his last outing, and those miscues resulted in three homers in a start for the first time in nearly four years in Thursday's 5-1 setback at Kansas City. The 2015 NL Cy Young Award recipient has been taken deep eight times in his last seven starts. Lorenzo Cain (5-for-9) and Hernan Perez (7-for-19) have gotten under the skin of Arrieta, who sports an 8-6 mark with a 3.22 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 17 career meetings with Milwaukee.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 2B Cesar Hernandez has 12 hits -- including two homers -- to go along with seven RBIs and six runs scored in his last nine games.
2. Milwaukee 1B Jesus Aguilar has five RBIs and four runs scored during his eight-game hitting streak.
3. Segura is 7-for-22 with three RBIs and three runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.