Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer to help the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-5 win against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday evening.
Mark Canha had two doubles and scored two runs, Brice Turang delivered a pair of RBI singles and Andruw Monasterio contributed three hits for Milwaukee (76-59), which has won the first two games of the series and 11 of its last 13 to build a 4 1/2-game lead in the National League Central.
Milwaukee recalled right-hander Colin Rea from Triple-A Nashville to start in place of Adrian Houser (forearm tightness). Rea allowed two runs and three hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola (12-9) was aiming to win his fourth consecutive start but was removed after surrendering seven runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Nola struck out five and walked three.
Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner homered for the Phillies (74-61), who have lost three games in a row.
Schwarber led off the game with a homer for the second consecutive night, and Realmuto extended the lead to 2-0 with a solo shot in the second.
The Brewers answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.
Turang’s RBI single cut the Phillies’ lead to 2-1. Tyrone Taylor tied it 2-2 with a two-out double, and he came home on a single by Christian Yelich for a 3-2 lead.
Rea settled in after Realmuto’s homer and retired the final nine batters he faced before Andrew Chafin (3-4) got the final two outs of the fifth.
Brewers catcher William Contreras extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with a one-out double in the fifth. Santana then drove a full-count pitch into the seats in right center for a 5-2 lead.
The Brewers didn’t let up in the inning. After a two-out walk to Willy Adames, Canha doubled him home to make it 6-2.
Andrew Bellatti replaced Nola and Turang greeted him with another RBI single for a 7-2 lead.
In the sixth, Turner homered for the fifth straight game to trim the lead to 7-3.
The Phillies tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it 7-4.
Schwarber drove in a run in the ninth with an infield single off Devin Williams to make it 7-5, but Williams struck out Turner with the tying run on second to earn his 32nd save.
–Field Level Media
