MILWAUKEE – Ryan Howard beat the shift with a double to left-center on the first pitch of the second to continue his hot hitting against Brewers’ pitcher Dave Bush. Heading into the game Howard was 5-for-14 with two homers against Bush.
But Howard isn’t the only Phillie with good lifetime numbers against Bush. Pat Burrell was 5-for-13 with three homers; Chase Utley was 4-for-9 with a homer; Pedro Feliz had two homers and Greg Dobbs had a pair of homers and a .462 average (6-for-13).
However, following the double to Howard, Bush retired the next three in order. As a result, the Phillies have stranded 18 runners during their 18 times at bat during the series and 12 of those in scoring position.
That kind of makes it tough.
It also gets tough when pitcher Jamie Moyer continued to work deep counts. So far, only two Brewers have gotten first-pitch strikes as the lefty’s pitch count soared to 56 after just two innings. The pitcher is clearly frustrated with the strike zone and appeared to be yapping at home-plate ump Brian Runge. After Mike Cameron walked with two outs, Moyer yelled for catcher Carlos Ruiz to get out to the mound.
Moyer got out of the inning by striking out Bill Hall, but it wasn’t until the hitter was halfway down the base line to first thinking he had walked that Runge rung him up.
End of 2: Brewers 2, Phillies 0