Phillies Blank First-Place Brewers in Series Finale
Sep 4, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
In preparation for the season opener for the Philadelphia Eagles’ season opener, the Philadelphia Phillies warmed fans all around with a late-insuring victory in the 2-0 shutout.
Though the Phillies lost the season series to the Brewers due to a sweep in Philadelphia to start the month of June, the Phillies’ series win this week on the road up North is huge at this point in time, as postseason baseball is right around the corner and will come sooner than expected.
The series win leads to a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East, and a 2.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, both key if the Phillies want the bye week for a second straight year.
Though it took the offense a minute to wake up, this win feels good for fans and will hopefully start a celebration tonight, leading into an Eagles victory.
Great Quality Start for Ranger
As the regular season comes closer to an end, the Phillies need to bring immediate attention to their starting pitching rotation, as there are a lot of concerns about the projected rotation. With Aaron Nola giving up five earned runs in the first inning (six total) last night against the Brewers, and Taijuan Walker giving up five runs in four innings to start the series in Milwaukee, there is a lot of concern as to where the Phillies’ starting staff stands going into October.
With Cristopher Sanchez looking to start game one after a phenomenal season, and Jesus Luzardo putting up an excellent start against the Braves Sunday night, where no runs were given up, Ranger Suarez eyes the third spot in that projected rotation after his excellence today against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In six innings today, Ranger allowed no runs while only walking two batters. This was all done in under 90 pitches for another quality start for the Phillies. With the game being scoreless for six innings, Rangers’ six clean innings were the key to the Phillies’ win this afternoon.
Suarez looked like his first-half self when it came to his curveball and his cutter, which were above average today and will hopefully continue to be excellent for him. A defense to back up Ranger today made a huge difference in tight situations throughout the game, especially Suarez getting out of two runners in scoring position after runners on first and third with no man out.
With no guarantee that Ranger stays with the Phillies or stays healthy in the offseason, the Phillies still need him to be Suarez right now in the hunt for a title, which he achieved today with ease.
Middle Infield Comes Through at the Plate
With the two runs coming for the Phillies after the seventh inning, the situational hitting from Trea Turner to give the Phillies the lead was huge that late in the game. After an Alec Bohm triple, the Phillies knew they couldn’t let that runner at third be stranded with two away. A simple base hit from Trea was all the Phillies were looking for, as it was more than enough to give the Phillies the lead.
A similar situation came in the ninth, where insurance runs would be beneficial to pad on for the save. That opportunity came in from Bryson Stott, after a leadoff double from Harrison Bader, the Phillies would refuse to strand the runner at third with two outs. A double from Bryson to keep the inning going also doubled the Phillies’ lead in a huge way, going into the bottom of the ninth, showing more hope in the ability to hit in a situation.
Bullpen Looking Sharp
After Suarez finished his sixth inning, David Robertson and Matt Strahm each took an inning to hold the, at the time, one-run lead. They did exactly that, as 32 pitches in two innings between the two kept the Brewers blank going into the ninth.
With the extra run, Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was able to do what he does best, for a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth finish and the save. With a great game from both the starting pitching and the bullpen, the Phillies can leave for a three-game series in Miami feeling confident once again.
Though the Phillies felt impatient today, as they wait eagerly for a Birds game, they pulled another close game off over the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
Luke Raidy
Luke has covering the the Flyers and Phillies for Philly Sports Reports since 2025. He is a junior at North Penn and being a huge Philly sports fan has brought so many experiences, such as going to the NLDS, NLCS, and even the World Series in 2022. He has also met former superstars in the city of Philadelphia, such as Wayne Simmonds from the Flyers. Though being a student-athlete, Luke enjoys his time where he is writing and reporting on Philadelphia sports.
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